Kigelia pinnata

Kigelia pinnata

Kigelia pinnata

(Bignoniaceae)“Sausage Tree” “Arbol de las Salchicas”.

Tropical Africa.

A small, evergreen tree with a drooping, bushy habit. Frost sensitive. There’s more than one example in the Parque, the largest specimen perhaps to be found at the western entrance area near the Plaza de la Marina (see map). Grown for its leaves which consist of 7 to 11 oval or oblong leaflets, and for its red/purple flowers which open at night. The flowers themselves appear Autumn to Spring, and are followed by long-lasting, inedible fruits, 30-45cm long, which hand from the tree from late Spring and provide it with its common name of “Sausage Tree,” or in Spanish, “Arbol de las Salchicas.” Kigelia is a genus of this one species.