Plant: Shrubs or small trees; 1-10 m tall
Leaves: pinnately compound, 3-11 foliolate; leaflets opposite, lanceolate to almost linear, apically acute to long-acuminate, 1.5-15 cm long, 0.5-6 cm wide, the margins usually serrate
INFLORESCENCE: terminal racemes of up to 20 flowers, the pedicels and rachis finely pubescent
Flowers: calyx 3-7 mm long, with glands at the base of the lobes; corolla yellow, 3.5-5 cm long, the lobes ca. 1 cm long; stamens included, the anthers divaricate, sparsely pilose, the staminode 1-2 mm long
Fruit: FRUITS linear, terete, 7-21 cm lon; SEEDS 3-5 mm long, flattened, 2-winged
Misc: Canyons, desert grasslands, oak woodlands; 900-1600 m (2900-5200 ft); May-Oct
REFERENCES: Mason, Charles T., Jr. 1999. Bignoniaceae. Ariz.-Nev. Acad. Sci. 32(1).
Common Name: yellow trumpetbush
Duration: Perennial
Nativity: Native
Lifeform: Tree
Wetland Status: UPL
General: Shrubs to small trees, 1-10 m tall.
Leaves: Pinnate with opposite leaflets 3-11 per leaf, individual leaflets lanceolate with toothed margins, bright green and smooth on the upper surface, lighter in color beneath. Leaves and young stems yield a small amount of latex.
Flowers: Inflorescences in terminal racemes, with few to many bright yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers.
Fruits: Long slender capsule 7-21 cm, seeds flattened, 1- 2 winged.
Ecology: Found in canyons, grasslands, and oak woodlands, from 3,000-5,000 ft (914-1524 m); flowers May-October.
Distribution: s AZ, s NM, s TX. S FL; south to S. Amer.; Africa; Australia and Asia.
Notes: Often cultivated as an ornamental for its beautiful and abundant yellow flowers. Distinguished by its medium-large shrubby habit; the shiny-green, pinnately compound leaves with 3-11 toothed, lanceolate leaflets with pointed tips; the large, showy, bilabiate corollas and the linear, elongated fruits.
Ethnobotany: Used in Mexico medicinally and to make a type of beer.
Synonyms: Bignonia stans, Stenolobium stans, Tecoma stans var angustatum
Editor: LCrumbacher 2011, FSCoburn 2015
Etymology: Tecoma is abbreviated from the Mexican name"Tecomaxochitl", while stans means upright or erect.
