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Pink Trumpet Tree Wikimedia Commons
Bignoniaceae

Pink Trumpet Tree

Handroanthus impetiginosus

Resilience, healing, beauty in dryness.

Family
Bignoniaceae
Genus
Handroanthus
Native to
Mexico, Central and South America
Bloom season
Late Winter, Spring
Type
Deciduous tropical tree
Height
8–20 m
Sunlight
Full sun
Soil
Well-drained
Water
Low to moderate
Hardiness
9–11
Lifespan
Long-lived

Did you know

  • The pink trumpet tree blooms while completely leafless — entire trees turn into clouds of magenta against the brown dry-season landscape, one of the most spectacular sights in the neotropical Americas.
  • It's the national tree of Paraguay (called 'lapacho rosado') and one of the most important medicinal trees of South American traditional medicine.
  • The bark is the source of pau d'arco, an herbal supplement used for centuries by Indigenous peoples and now sold worldwide as an immune-system booster.
  • The wood is so dense it sinks in water and is one of the hardest, most rot-resistant timbers in the world — sometimes called 'ironwood'.
  • Pink trumpet trees line streets across South America, and Brazil's city of São Paulo is famous for its lapacho-flowering avenues each August.

Color meanings

Pink

Triumphant grace

Uses

  • Specimen trees
  • Avenue plantings
  • Medicinal bark
  • Tropical landscaping