Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers

• Authority

  Britton, Nathaniel L. Flora Borinqueña.

• Family

  Bignoniaceae

• Scientific Name

  Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers

• Description

  Species Description - Linnaeus, who classified most of the plants of this family known to him in the one genus Bignonia, gave this tree the name Bignonia Leucoxylon (white wood). Subsequent authors, with increased information, came to improve his classification, by grouping the species into several genera, Jussieu, in 1789, called it Tecoma pentaphylla (five leaflets), but the tree was found to be very different from Tecoma stans the Roble amarillo, or Yellow Cedar, the type species of the genus Tecoma, also illustrated in this work. Miers in 1863, determined its affinity with Brazilian trees of the genus Tabebuia described by Gomez in 1803, and gave it the name pallida, both the earlier specific names Leucoxylon and pentaphylla being unavailable owing to prior usage for trees again different. An account of the genus Tabebuia may be found with our description of Tabebuia haemantha. Tabebuia pallida (pale) may reach a height of about 20 meters, but is usually less than 15 meters high; the gray bark is shallowly fissured, the white, hard and strong wood is valued for construction and for furniture. The leaves, borne on slender stalks about 10 centimeters long, or shorter, are mostly composed of 5 leaflets, but the number varies from 3 to 5, or some leaves may have but 1; the leaflets vary from oblong to elliptic-obovate, and from 7 to 15 centimeters in length; they are pointed, or blunt, rather firm in texture, more or less scaly, and somewhat shining. The flowers, borne few or several together, or sometimes solitary, are often numerous, densely covering the branches at times when the tree is bare of leaves and forming elegant masses; they have slender stalks about 2 centimeters long, or shorter; the calyx is scaly, about 10 millimeters long; the pink, white or rose corolla is usually 6 or 7 centimeters long, soon wilting. The capsule is about 20 centimeters long, or shorter, about 6 millimeters thick. The tree is plentiful at lower and middle elevations in wet or moist parts of Porto Rico, and much planted along roads and streets. Geographically it is distributed from Santo Domingo, eastward through the Virgin Islands, southward through the Lesser Antilles to Venezuela, and grows also in Central America. It has become naturalized in Bermuda.

• Discussion

  Roble blanco White Cedar Trumpet-creeper Family Tabebuia pallida Miers, Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society 3: 199. 1863.