A deciduous shrub in zone 9 and a re-emerging perennial in zone 8. In the tropics it grows 15-20' tall and its unruly, wide-spreading branches can cover about the same width. Peacock is usually 8-12' tall at planting, and will grow that large even after being frozen on the ground the previous winter. The stem, branches and petioles are armed with sharp spines, and the leaves are twice as compound as those of ferns, with numerous small oval leaflets. The peacock flower lives up to its name with incredibly spectacular flowers of orange and red. The flowers are vase-shaped, 2-3" across, with five wrinkled, unequal red and orange petals and ten prominent bright red stamens extending beyond the corolla. Flowers are borne in terminal clusters 8-10" tall. In tropical climates and late summers and years with frosts. There are also forms with yellow and crimson flowers. Fruit, a typical legume, is flat, 3-4" long, and bursts open to expose small brown beans when ripe.

Botanical name: Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Family: FABAC

Names in different languages:

   Sinhala: Monara mal

   English: Peacock Flower, Pride of Barbados, Dwarf poinciana

   Tamil: Mayurkonrai

  

Ayurvedic Uses:

Treatment: Fever, colds, jaundice, flatulence, malignant tumors, skin diseases, purging, diarrhoea, dysentery, bronchitis, juice of the leaves is said to cure fever, juice of the flower is said to cure ulcers, seeds are said to cure severe cough, difficulty breathing and chest pain. It is also said to cure pain. Four grams of the roots are also said to cause miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Parts used in medicine: roots, seeds, leaves

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