Name: Flor de rosa, rose of Venezuela, scarlet flame bean
Botanical name: Brownea coccinea subspecies capitella
Description: A gorgeous orange-red ball of flowers characterizes this leguminous shrub/small tree that is native to northern South America, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. The stamens are golden yellow and joined at the base, topped with golden anthers, adding liveliness and depth to the spectacular flower clusters that appear from late winter to spring.
The big leaves with pointed drip-tips are compound, and begin life limp and light-colored, hanging at the ends of twigs. This is believed to be a defense against insect predation and sometimes gives the tree the nickname ``handkerchief tree.''
Height: 15 feet
Light: Partial shade
Culture: Browneas like protection from the wind and a semi-shady location, says Dimitris Petropolous of Ernesto's Good Earth Nursery in South Miami-Dade. ''They do not want to be rocked by the wind,'' he says. The plants also like adequate moisture, so be sure to keep a layer of mulch around the root zone.
And Petropolous says aspirin water (salicylic acid) helps with leaf growth and makes flowers last longer on this acid-loving plant. Petropolous uses 2,000 units in five gallons of water and adds a couple of cups to the legumes in his nursery two or three times between now and May.
(To discover more about giving your plants aspirin, Google aspirin and plants.)
