I thought the trumpet trees I saw at the LA Arboretum and in our California neighborhood were the same species but just different colors. However, when I looked closely at their scientific names, I found out they can belong to different genera. I’ve seen Tabebuia and Handroanthus more often. Although Cecropia is also sometimes called a trumpet tree, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of its flowers.
If you’ve ever seen a tropical tree explode into pink or golden blossoms, there’s a good chance it was a Tabebuia. These trees belong to the Bignoniaceae family, and while botanists know them for their complex classification, most of us simply admire them for their stunning spring displays. They grow naturally throughout the American tropics—from Mexico down to Argentina—with especially rich diversity in Cuba and Hispaniola.
What’s interesting is that some Tabebuia species form little hollow spaces in their twigs where ants like to move in. In return for the free housing, the ants help chase off hungry insects. The trees even produce tiny drops of nectar outside their flowers to keep their ant bodyguards happy.
Compared to their close relatives, the famously hard-wooded Handroanthus trees, Tabebuias have lighter wood and simpler features. They’re not as prized for lumber, but they are beloved as ornamental trees, and their blossoms are a welcome food source for bees and hummingbirds. Whether you notice them for their beauty, their quirky relationship with ants, or the wildlife they attract, Tabebuia trees have a way of standing out in any landscape.
我以為在洛杉磯植物園和加州我們家附近看到的風鈴木是同一種，只是顏色不同。然而，當我仔細查看它們的學名後，發現它們可能屬於不同的屬。我比較常見到的是黃鐘木屬（Tabebuia）和風鈴木屬（Handroanthus）。雖然號角樹屬（Cecropia）有時也被稱為風鈴木，但我好像從未見過它的花。
如果你曾經看過熱帶樹木盛開粉紅色或金色的花朵，那很可能就是黃鐘木屬植物。這些樹木屬於紫葳科，雖然植物學家對它們的分類頗為了解，但我們大多數人欣賞它們只是因為它們在春天綻放的絢麗花朵。它們自然生長於美洲熱帶地區——從墨西哥到阿根廷——尤其在古巴和伊斯帕尼奧拉島的品種最為豐富。
有趣的是，某些黃鐘木屬植物的枝條上會形成一些小凹陷的洞，螞蟻喜歡在那裡安家。作為免費住所的回報，螞蟻會幫助驅趕飢餓的昆蟲。這些樹甚至會在花朵外側分泌少量花蜜，以取悅它們的「保鑣」—螞蟻。
與以硬木著稱的近親－風鈴木屬植物相比，黃鐘木屬植物的木質較輕，形態也較簡潔。雖然它們不以木材著稱，但卻是備受喜愛的觀賞樹木，其花朵更是蜜蜂和蜂鳥的理想食物來源。無論你是被它們的美麗、它們與螞蟻之間奇特的共生關係，還是它們吸引的野生動物所吸引，黃鐘木屬植物總能在任何景觀中脫穎而出。
Tabebuia 'Apricot' 杏黄花風鈴木
Tabebuia ‘Apricot’ is a slow-growing, smaller tree, also known as the Dwarf Trumpet Tree. It blooms in late winter or early spring, often flowering before the leaves appear. The blossoms range in color from coral-apricot to bright yellow and cream-tan.
杏黄花風鈴木是一種生長緩慢的小型喬木，又稱矮生風鈴木。它在冬末或早春開花，通常在葉片萌發前盛開。花色從珊瑚杏色到亮黃色和奶油褐色不等。
Notes 筆記
- Tabebuia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. It is best known for the species cultivated as ornamental flowering trees.
- The name Tabebuia is of Tupi origin, although its exact meaning is uncertain; the often-repeated interpretation referring to “ant wood” is not linguistically confirmed and should be considered speculative.
- Some species formerly included in Tabebuia have twigs with soft pith that can form hollows inhabited by ants, which in turn may defend the plant from herbivores. These plants may possess extrafloral nectaries, which attract ants, although this trait is not universal in the genus.
- Tabebuia is native to the American tropics and subtropics, ranging from Mexico and the Caribbean to Argentina. Species diversity is especially high in the Greater Antilles, particularly Cuba and Hispaniola.
- The genus is distinguished from its close relatives—especially Handroanthus—by several traits:
- The wood is not extremely hard or heavy and lacks the sharp separation between heartwood and sapwood seen in Handroanthus.
- Lapachol, a bioactive naphthoquinone common in Handroanthus, is absent from Tabebuia.
- The calyx in Tabebuia is usually spathaceous, whereas it is never spathaceous in Handroanthus.
- Tabebuia species generally have lepidote scales rather than hairs.
- The wood of Tabebuia ranges from light to moderately heavy, and some species have local importance as timber trees in tropical America and the Caribbean. However, the genus is most widely known for its showy flowering trees cultivated in landscaping.
- Some species of Tabebuia are also valued by beekeepers, as their flowers provide nectar for bees and hummingbirds, which are important pollinators for the genus.
- 黃鐘木屬是紫葳科（Bignoniaceae）下的開花植物屬。它主要是作為觀賞性開花喬木栽培的物種。
- 黃鐘木屬這個名字源自於圖皮語，但其確切含義尚不確定；人們經常將其解釋為「螞蟻木」，但這種解釋並未得到語言學證實，應視為推測。
- 一些以前被歸入鐘木屬的物種，其枝條有軟木髓，可以形成空洞，供螞蟻棲息，而螞蟻反過來又可以保護植物免受食草動物的侵害。這些植物可能具有花外蜜腺，吸引螞蟻，雖然這種特徵並非該屬所有物種都有。
- 黃鐘木屬植物原產於美洲熱帶和亞熱帶地區，分佈範圍從墨西哥和加勒比海地區一直延伸到阿根廷。大安的列斯群島的物種尤其多，特別是古巴和伊斯帕尼奧拉島。
- 黃鐘木屬植物與其近緣種（尤其是風鈴木屬(Handroanthus)）的區別在於以下幾個特徵：
- 這種木材並不十分堅硬或重，也沒有像風鈴木屬那樣心材和邊材之間有明顯的界限。
- 拉帕醇是一種在風鈴木屬中常見的生物活性萘醌，但在黃鐘木屬中不存在。
- 黃鐘木屬植物的花萼通常為佛焰苞狀，而風鈴木屬植物的花萼則從不為佛焰苞狀。
- 黃鐘木屬植物通常有鱗片狀鱗片，而不是毛髮。
- 黃鐘木屬植物的木材硬度從輕到中等不等，某些品種在熱帶美洲和加勒比地區具有重要的木材價值。然而，該屬植物最廣為人知的還是其觀賞性強的開花喬木，常用於園林綠化。
- 有些黃鐘木屬植物也受到養蜂人的重視，因為它們的花朵為蜜蜂和蜂鳥提供花蜜，而蜜蜂和蜂鳥是該屬植物的重要授粉者。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Tabebuia
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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