Stereospermum kunthianum is a deciduous African shrub or small tree, usually about 5 m tall, grown for its fragrant pink or purple flowers. It is a large outdoor tree in warm climates and is rarely grown as a houseplant.
Family
Bignoniaceae (Trumpet-vine family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly during the growing season and let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings; reduce water while dormant.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile soil or loam-based mix.
Temperature
18–32 °C; protect below 10 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Trop. Africa
Climate
wet tropical
About
Stereospermum kunthianum is an African deciduous shrub or small tree occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It is widespread across Africa to the Red Sea, and reaches as far south as Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. There are some 30 species with a Central African and Asian distribution.
Growing to 25 cm diameter, it has thin, grey-black bark, smooth or flaking in patches resembling the London plane; the trunk is rarely straight, with twisted branches. Usually 5m tall, but occasionally up to 15m, with abundant, fragrant, precocious, pink or purplish flowers, making the tree a spectacular sight.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Stereospermum kunthianum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.