Couroupita guianensis

Overview

NParks describes a grey-brown, fissured trunk draped with dangling flowering branchlets. Simple leaves cluster near branch ends. Flowers have fleshy red-orange petals and a prominent staminal hood; mature fruits resemble rusty-brown cannonballs. The flowers lack nectar, while pollen provides a reward for visiting bees.

Mori and Prance’s botanical monograph documents extensive variation within individual trees. A serial collection from one cultivated Florida tree showed that crown leaves and flowering-branch leaves differed markedly. Developmental variation had helped create names that the authors reduced to synonymy.

The monograph distinguishes fertile staminal-ring pollen from non-germinating hood pollen. Cultivated-tree studies support this division of reproductive and reward functions. Extensive planting obscures parts of the natural range; cultivated records do not establish wild populations.

Origins & earliest records

Government diagnosis complements herbarium-based botanical revision.

Evidence & interpretation

Serial collections and pollen studies support distinct morphological and reproductive conclusions.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Couroupita guianensis

   NParks · 2024

2. 02

   Lecythidaceae - Part II

   Mori and Prance · 1990

Family, evolution & connections

Taxonomic classification

A hierarchy of classified groups, not a chain of direct ancestors.

Source note: Lecythidaceae follows the flora; the monograph treats variable forms as one species.

1. FamilyLecythidaceae

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Government floraCouroupita guianensisResearch access: 2026-10-11
2. Botanical monographLecythidaceae - Part IIResearch access: 2026-10-11

Image credits

AI scientific interpretation of Couroupita guianensis.

AI scientific interpretation of an imagined Couroupita guianensis.