This attractive flowering tree is the Nile Tulip, Markhamia lutea. It is also called Nile Trumpet or Siala Tree. It belongs to the trumpet-vine family, Bignoniaceae, along with Calabash, Ginger Thomas and African Tulip.

The species is native to tropical Africa, from Ghana eastward to South Sudan and south into Tanzania. It is now planted in many warm regions as an ornamental and shade tree.

Nile Tulip usually grows as a small to medium-sized evergreen tree with a straight trunk and a rounded or somewhat irregular crown. In favorable conditions, it can become a substantial shade tree.

The leaves are compound, with several broad leaflets arranged along a central stalk. Their edges may be smooth or slightly toothed, and the terminal leaflet is often larger than the others.

The flowers are the tree’s most noticeable feature. They appear in clusters near the ends of the branches and are large, trumpet-shaped and bright yellow.

Inside each flower are reddish-brown or maroon lines and markings. These act as nectar guides, directing visiting insects toward the center of the blossom.

The flower buds are enclosed by a brownish, velvety covering. When the blossoms open, the contrast between the dark buds and brilliant yellow trumpets makes the display especially striking.

Bees and other insects visit the flowers for nectar and pollen, carrying pollen between blossoms as they move through the crown.

After flowering, the tree produces very long, narrow seed capsules. These may reach well over a foot in length and hang from the branches like slender brown pods. They are capsules rather than true bean pods, because Nile Tulip does not belong to the legume family.

As the capsules dry, they split lengthwise and release many flat seeds. Each seed has thin, papery wings that allow it to spin or glide away on the wind.

The wood has been used locally for construction, furniture, tools and fuel, while the tree is also planted for shade and erosion control. Its flowers make it particularly valuable as an ornamental avenue or garden tree.

Nile Tulip can sometimes be confused with the African Tulip Tree, Spathodea campanulata. Both belong to the same family and produce trumpet-shaped flowers, but Nile Tulip has yellow blossoms and long, narrow capsules, while African Tulip usually has much larger orange-red flowers and heavier, boat-shaped fruits.

This is a tree whose beauty is easy to appreciate from a distance, but its finer details reward a closer look: the velvety buds, patterned yellow flowers and remarkably long seed capsules.

When presenting it to a group, the best feature to emphasize is the sequence from flower to fruit—bright yellow trumpets followed by slender capsules filled with winged seeds.