Flame tree and burning bush…

I always thought Vincent van Gogh’s cypress trees looked flame-shaped – so I’ve corrected the colour…

Trees are green, right? So I suppose it’s not surprising that people have taken notice when a tree is red. And many times on different continents they have likened it to fire. So here I am going to look at the various flame trees and burning bushes…

Fire and water – my Euonymus alatus leaves after rain this week…

I’ll tell you what got me thinking about this – it was my Euonymus alatus – also known as the winged spindle tree. At this time of year you can see why it has another name – burning bush or fire bush.

But for the rest of the year you wouldn’t look twice at this little tree, whose family name Euonymus means “of good name”, perhaps referring ironically to the fact that it is poisonous to animals. You might notice the winged twigs that give it the Latin description “alatus”, and occasionally the small yellowish flowers. But I have never noticed the little red berries of this tree.

Flowers and winged twigs of Euonymus alatus in May…

By the way, it’s called a spindle-tree because the wood of some trees in the Euonymus family were indeed used to make spindles for spinning wool.

There is another burning bush, Latin name Bassia scoparia. As usual, click on the images to go to the source of the pictures…

A field of burning bushes and Cosmos in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, pictured by Ju-Ni-To on Flickr…

Of course when we in the west think of a burning bush we often recall the Biblical story of Moses, to whom God apparently appeared in a burning bush to tell him to lead the captive Israelites out of Egypt and to the promised land. It’s a great image, but according to Wikipedia it may be based on a mistranscription. The Hebrew word seneh appears only twice in the Bible and is translated as bush (or brambles). But some think it was actually the word for Sinai, as this place was sometimes known as the burning mountain.

But let’s hold on to our imagery for now…

Traditional image of God appearing to Moses in a burning bush, from St Isaac’s Cathedral, St Petersburg…

A more whimsical image of Moses (and his sheep) with the burning bush from the Mr Biblehead blog…

This is a very sci-fi image called Burning Bush by Casimir K Rodetzky – it’s the sort of picture that makes you want to find a plot to go with it – are those drops of rain or alien spacecraft?

Enough of burning bushes – what about flame trees? My first thought is “The Flame Trees of Thika”. This was a series on TV when I was a child, although I recall nothing about it. Originally it was a book by Elspeth Huxley, about her childhood in Kenya, and because I follow my thoughts, I have just bought it to read on my Kindle.

Cover art for the Flame Trees of Thika…

A more fiery cover for The Flame Trees of Thika, from pre-decimal (before 1973) times – the price says 5/- (five shillings)…

According to Wikipedia there are several “flame trees” in the world, most of them referring to the flowers of the tree, rather than the leaves. I think those in Thika may have been Delonix regia – the royal poinciana…

A long way from its African home – a Delonix regia in South Miami, USA…

Another African native is the Nandi flame tree, Spathodea campanulata, which grows in the tropical dry forests and is also known as the African tulip tree…

Spathodea campanulata or Nandi flame tree pictured in Cape Town by Andrew Massyn…

Erythrina is a genus of tropical and subtropical plants, many of which are commonly called flame trees, although some are also called coral trees because of the shape of the branches.

An Asian pied starling feeding on an Indian coral tree (Erythrina variegata) in Kolkata – it’s also sometimes called a flame tree…

Butea monosperma is a close relative of the coral tree mentioned above and in fact some people call it Erythrina monosperma. It’s also called the parrot tree but more relevant here is that it is often called the flame of the forest and grows all the way across the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia.

Butea monosperma – flame of the forest or parrot tree, in Hyderabad, India…

Not all flame trees are red. There is the yellow flame tree, Peltophorum pterocarpum, which has yellow blooms and is a native of South East Asia…

Peltophorum pterocarpum or yellow flame tree growing in Kolkata…

In eastern Australia there is the Illawarra flame tree, Brachychiton acerifolius…

Brachychiton acerifolius or Illawarra flame tree

I’m not even convinced that people call this next one a flame tree, although Wikipedia lists it in that category. Nuytsia floribunda is a hemiparasitic tree more often called the Western Australian Christmas tree. It’s a member of the mistletoe family.

Whenever you see an official plant name that doesn’t look like proper Latin, you know it must be named after a person – in this case the 17th century Dutch explorer and colonial official Pieter Nuyts. For more plants named after people, see my blog post Who would YOU name a plant after?

Bright flowers of Nuytsia floribunda, a relative of mistletoe that blooms around Christmas time in Australia…

In South America you will find the Chilean firebush, Embothrium coccineum…

Flowers of Embothrium coccineum or Chilean firebush…

Another South American native is not so much a tree as a climber, Pyrostegia venusta (formerly called Bignonia ignea or Pyrostegia ignea), known as the flame vine or orange trumpet vine, which grows (and looks) like a house on fire…

Pyrostegia venusta or flame vine…

In the case of Koelreuteria bipinnata, the Chinese flame tree, the name refers not to the flowers or leaves, but to the bright pink fruits…

Colourful fruit of Koelreuteria bipinnata, the Chinese flame tree…

And finally thanks to Rita Roberts (see comments) for mentioning Pyracantha – also known as firethorn. Nice one…

Berries of firethorn or Pyracantha…

Well, that was all very warming on a cold day, wasn’t it?