Tropical & arid trees
Trees of hot countries, wet or dry: the umbrella acacia says African savanna, the baobab dry Africa and Madagascar, teak tropical Asia. Their shape reads from afar, often better than their leaves. Cross-check with soil colour and the dry season.
Apple of Sodom
Calotropis procera
The big grey-leaved shrub of arid roadsides.
- ADULT SIZE
- 1.8–2.4 m tall, rarely up to 4.6 m.
- LEAVES
- Large, up to 30 cm, opposite, heart-shaped at the base, paler beneath.
- BARK
- Yellowish fissured bark; a white latex runs where it breaks.
- FRUIT
- A soft, green ovoid follicle up to 10 cm, fibrous inside.
- IN PLAY
- It grows where nothing else holds: the Sahel, North Africa, the Middle East, India. Outside its range it is a weed of northern Australia — grey clumps beside a dry track are this one.
- NATIVE
- Bangladesh · Bhutan · Cambodia · Egypt · Ghana · India · Israel · Jordan · Kenya · Laos · Lebanon · Nepal · Nigeria · Oman · Qatar · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · South Africa · Spain · Thailand · Tunisia · Turkey · Uganda · United Arab Emirates · Vietnam
Papaya
Carica papaya
The papaya: a bare stem, a leaf parasol, the fruit hugging the trunk.
- ADULT SIZE
- 3–8 m — a giant tree-like herb rather than a true tree.
- LEAVES
- Large deeply-cut palmate leaves, all at the top.
- FRUIT
- Papayas packed directly against the stem, below the leaves.
- IN PLAY
- The yard tree of the WHOLE tropical belt — it names no country, it confirms the climate: where it grows, it never freezes.
- NATIVE
- Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · Guatemala · Mexico · Panama
African baobab
Adansonia digitata · Bottle trunk
The bottle trunk of the African savannahs.
- ADULT SIZE
- 5–25 m tall; the trunk may reach 10–14 m across.
- LEAVES
- Palmately compound, five to seven leaflets (sometimes nine). Deciduous: the tree stands bare about eight months of the year.
- BARK
- Grey and usually smooth; the trunk is very broad, fluted or cylindrical, often with a buttressed spreading base.
- FRUIT
- Up to 25 cm, rounded, with a thick 6–10 mm shell; the light beige pulp hardens into a crumbly powder as it dries.
- IN PLAY
- A bare baobab in dry savannah is sub-Saharan Africa, from the Sahel to the south — cross it with the Aw layer. Madagascar carries OTHER baobab species with a different habit: do not merge the two answers.
- NATIVE
- Botswana · Egypt · Ghana · Kenya · Namibia · Nigeria · Oman · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · South Africa · Uganda
Mango
Mangifera indica · Rounded broadleaf
The mango: the dark dome shading tropical villages and markets.
- ADULT SIZE
- 10–30 m, with a dense, very dark domed crown.
- LEAVES
- Leathery glossy lance-shaped leaves, reddish when young.
- FRUIT
- Mangoes, hanging on long stalks.
- IN PLAY
- The default shade tree of India and tropical Africa: the avenues of ancient mangoes along Indian roads are a landscape of their own.
- NATIVE
- Bhutan · India · Laos · Thailand
Teak
Tectona grandis · Rounded broadleaf
The teak: giant leaves and ranked plantations of monsoon Asia.
- ADULT SIZE
- 20–40 m, straight-boled, with an open crown.
- LEAVES
- ENORMOUS rough leaves (30–60 cm), shed in the dry season.
- IN PLAY
- Its big-leaved plantations say Myanmar, Thailand, India — and, exported, Costa Rica and Ghana. In the dry season, a ‘dead’ plantation with giant leaves on the ground is teak.
- NATIVE
- Bangladesh · Bhutan · Cambodia · India · Laos · Thailand · Vietnam
Monkey pod tree
Samanea saman · Umbrella conifer
The rain tree: the giant parasol of tropical squares and pastures.
- ADULT SIZE
- 15–25 m tall under a crown that can spread beyond 50 m.
- LEAVES
- Fine twice-pinnate foliage that folds at night and in rain.
- IN PLAY
- Its vast flat crown over a paddock or a junction: tropical American by birth, but planted across South-East Asia — the great parasol of Singapore and Thai roads.
- NATIVE
- Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · Ecuador · Panama · Peru
Flame of the forest
Butea monosperma · Rounded broadleaf
The flame of the forest: the crooked tree that blazes orange.
- ADULT SIZE
- 10–15 m, with a twisted trunk and limbs.
- LEAVES
- Leaves of three large leathery leaflets.
- FRUIT
- Fiery orange flowers in late dry season, before the leaves; flat silvery pods.
- IN PLAY
- Scattered through fields of the Indian subcontinent and Indochina — in bloom (February–April), its orange bursts over dry country are a superb seasonal marker.
- NATIVE
- Bangladesh · Bhutan · Cambodia · India · Laos · Nepal · Sri Lanka · Thailand · Vietnam
Calabash
Crescentia cujete · Rounded broadleaf
The calabash tree: green cannonballs stuck straight on the boughs.
- ADULT SIZE
- 5–10 m, with long, sparsely branched limbs.
- FRUIT
- Large spherical gourds growing straight from trunk and branches.
- IN PLAY
- The yard tree of Central America and the Caribbean — its green balls by a house say Nicaragua, rural Colombia or the Antilles.
- NATIVE
- Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · Curaçao · Dominican Republic · France · Guatemala · Mexico · Netherlands · Panama · Puerto Rico
Rubber tree
Hevea brasiliensis · Rounded broadleaf
The rubber tree: dark ranks bled into a latex cup.
- ADULT SIZE
- 20–30 m in plantation, straight-boled.
- LEAVES
- Leaves of three hanging leaflets, in a closed dark canopy.
- BARK
- The SPIRAL TAPPING CUT and the black cup on the trunk — the absolute signature.
- IN PLAY
- Amazonian by birth, Asian by career: tunnels of tapped rubber say Malaysia, southern Thailand, Sumatra, Vietnam — look for the cup on the trunk.
- NATIVE
- Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Colombia · France · Peru
Giant milkweed
Calotropis gigantea · Pruned hedge row
The giant milkweed: the tall grey shrub of Indian roadsides.
- ADULT SIZE
- 2–4 m, an upright shrub with white latex.
- LEAVES
- Large thick oval leaves, felted grey-green.
- FRUIT
- Starry lilac-to-white flowers; big inflated pods.
- IN PLAY
- The grey bush of wasteground in India and South-East Asia — its brother procera holds the deserts; this one prefers the monsoon.
- NATIVE
- Bangladesh · Bhutan · Cambodia · India · Indonesia · Laos · Malaysia · Nepal · Sri Lanka · Thailand · Vietnam
Umbrella thorn acacia
Vachellia tortilis · Umbrella conifer
The umbrella thorn: the very silhouette of the African savanna.
- ADULT SIZE
- 5–15 m, with a FLATTENED umbrella crown.
- LEAVES
- Fine twice-pinnate foliage, straight white thorns mixed with hooks.
- FRUIT
- Pods twisted like corkscrews.
- IN PLAY
- The lone parasol over yellow grass, Serengeti to Sahel and into the Negev — East Africa’s logo tree, in game as on posters.
- NATIVE
- Botswana · Egypt · Eswatini · Ghana · Israel · Jordan · Kenya · Lebanon · Lesotho · Namibia · Nigeria · Oman · Qatar · Senegal · South Africa · Tunisia · Turkey · Uganda · United Arab Emirates
Moringa
Moringa oleifera · Rounded broadleaf
The moringa: the spindly vegetable-tree of hot-country yards.
- ADULT SIZE
- 5–12 m, light and lanky.
- LEAVES
- Feathery thrice-pinnate foliage of tiny round leaflets.
- FRUIT
- Long three-angled pods — the curry ‘drumsticks’.
- IN PLAY
- Planted by houses from India to the Sahel: its pale lacework above a yard wall says a dry-tropics village.
- NATIVE
- India
Kapok
Ceiba pentandra · Bottle trunk
The kapok: the buttressed giant that tops every canopy.
- ADULT SIZE
- Up to 50–70 m — the emergent par excellence, with horizontal branch tiers.
- BARK
- Massive trunk with winged BUTTRESSES, often spiny when young.
- FRUIT
- Pods stuffed with kapok — a floss that drifts off in flakes.
- IN PLAY
- The sacred tree left standing over squares and fields, Central America to West Africa — a lone buttressed giant above a village is often this one.
- NATIVE
- Bolivia · Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · Curaçao · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · France · Guatemala · Mexico · Netherlands · Panama · Peru · Puerto Rico
Flamboyant
Delonix regia · Umbrella conifer
The flamboyant: the parasol that turns fire-red in bloom.
- ADULT SIZE
- 8–15 m, its crown spread into a wide parasol.
- LEAVES
- Fine twice-pinnate foliage, light as fern.
- FRUIT
- Scarlet flowers smothering the whole tree; long flat brown pods that persist.
- IN PLAY
- Malagasy by origin, planted in EVERY tropical town: in bloom it marks the season (local late dry season) more than the place — the seasons disclaimer made wood.
- NATIVE
- Madagascar
Siamese cassia
Senna siamea · Rounded broadleaf
The Siamese cassia: the yellow-flowered avenue tree of tropical roads.
- ADULT SIZE
- 10–20 m, with a dense dark crown.
- LEAVES
- Pinnate leaves of rounded oval leaflets.
- FRUIT
- Upright yellow flower clusters nearly year-round; flat wavy pods.
- IN PLAY
- Lined along roads in Thailand, West Africa and India — an even dark-green screen dotted yellow, planted by the highway crews.
- NATIVE
- Laos · Sri Lanka · Thailand · Vietnam
Bayahonda
Neltuma juliflora · Pruned hedge row
The mesquite bayahonda: the thorny invader of drylands.
- ADULT SIZE
- 3–12 m, a twisted, very thorny shrub or small tree.
- LEAVES
- Fine dark twice-pinnate foliage; sweet yellow pods.
- IN PLAY
- Caribbean by origin, it has overrun drylands in India, East Africa and Brazil — the uniform thorn thickets round Sahelian and Indian villages are often this.
- NATIVE
- Bolivia · Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · Curaçao · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · France · Guatemala · Mexico · Netherlands · Panama · Peru
Monkey pepper
Xylopia aromatica · Rounded broadleaf
The monkey pepper: the little pagoda tree of the Cerrado.
- ADULT SIZE
- 4–10 m, branches near-horizontal in regular tiers.
- IN PLAY
- Its pagoda outline dots the savannas of central Brazil — a quiet but faithful Cerrado marker, Goiás into rural Minas.
- NATIVE
- Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · France · Panama · Paraguay · Peru
Neem
Azadirachta indica · Rounded broadleaf
The neem: the do-everything shade tree of the dry tropics.
- ADULT SIZE
- 15–20 m, with a dense rounded crown, green all year.
- LEAVES
- Pinnate leaves of glossy, toothed sickle-shaped leaflets.
- IN PLAY
- The shade of markets and yards in India and the Sahel — planted en masse in West Africa, where a neem avenue is the default furniture of dry towns.
- NATIVE
- Bangladesh · Bhutan · Cambodia · India · Laos · Thailand · Vietnam
Whistling thorn
Vachellia drepanolobium · Pruned hedge row
The whistling thorn: black ball-galls that sing in the wind.
- ADULT SIZE
- 2–6 m, an upright bush with long fine thorns.
- BARK
- Besides thorns it bears black spherical ant-inhabited GALLS — holed, they whistle.
- IN PLAY
- Uniform sweeps of dark bushes studded with black balls: the black-cotton savannas of Kenya and Tanzania — the Masai Mara’s thicket.
- NATIVE
- Egypt · Kenya · Uganda
Caldén
Prosopis caldenia · Umbrella conifer
The caldén: emblem tree of the dry Pampa.
- ADULT SIZE
- 8–12 m, short twisted trunk, crown spread in a low parasol.
- LEAVES
- Fine twice-pinnate foliage, pale and light.
- IN PLAY
- It grows ONLY in central Argentina: its low scattered parasols over short grass sign La Pampa and San Luis provinces — an endemic worth gold in region-guessing.
- NATIVE
- Argentina
Creosote bush
Larrea tridentata · Pruned hedge row
The creosote bush: the endlessly spaced shrub of North American deserts.
- ADULT SIZE
- 1–3 m, an airy bush of fine stems.
- LEAVES
- Tiny varnished olive leaves — the creosote smell after rain.
- IN PLAY
- Evenly SPACED bushes to the horizon on bare ground: Mojave, Sonora, Chihuahua — the backdrop of straight roads in the US South-West and northern Mexico.
- NATIVE
- Mexico · United States of America
Trumpet tree
Cecropia · Rounded broadleaf
The trumpet tree: the open hand of Latin American forest edges.
- ADULT SIZE
- 10–20 m, on a pale hollow trunk, with a sparse candelabra crown.
- LEAVES
- Huge hand-shaped leaves, WHITE beneath — the tree flashes in the wind.
- IN PLAY
- The pioneer of every forest edge and roadside in tropical America: its pale hands over a bank say Brazil, Colombia or Costa Rica — never Africa or Asia.
- NATIVE
- Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · Curaçao · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · France · Guatemala · Mexico · Netherlands · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Puerto Rico
Screw palm
Pandanus
The screw pines: twisted leaf-tufts perched on stilt roots.
- ADULT SIZE
- 3–15 m, the branched trunk propped on slanting STILT ROOTS.
- LEAVES
- Long spiny strap leaves, screwed in spirals at the branch tips.
- FRUIT
- Large ball-shaped compound fruits, pineapple-like.
- IN PLAY
- Stilts at the edge of Indian-Ocean and Pacific beaches: Réunion, the Seychelles, Polynesia, South-East Asian shores — a tropical coast of the ocean hemisphere.
- NATIVE
- American Samoa · Australia · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Cambodia · Egypt · France · Ghana · Guam · India · Indonesia · Japan · Kenya · Laos · Madagascar · Malaysia · Nepal · Nigeria · Northern Mariana Islands · Philippines · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Sri Lanka · Taiwan · Thailand · Uganda · United States of America · Vietnam
Fig trees
Ficus · Rounded broadleaf
The figs: from curtain-rooted banyans to the temples’ sacred fig.
- LEAVES
- Leathery glossy leaves; the sacred fig ends in a long ‘drip-tip’.
- BARK
- The banyan drops AERIAL ROOTS that thicken into trunks — a one-tree forest.
- IN PLAY
- The banyan shades crossroads of India and South-East Asia; a trunk wrapped in cloth or ringed by a low wall says a sacred tree — India, Thailand, Sri Lanka.
- NATIVE
- American Samoa · Argentina · Australia · Bangladesh · Bermuda · Bhutan · Bolivia · Botswana · Brazil · Cambodia · Colombia · Costa Rica · Curaçao · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · Eswatini · France · Georgia · Ghana · Greece · Guam · Guatemala · India · Indonesia · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kenya · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Lesotho · Madagascar · Malaysia · Mexico · Namibia · Nepal · Netherlands · Nigeria · Northern Mariana Islands · Oman · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Puerto Rico · Qatar · Russia · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · South Africa · South Korea · Sri Lanka · Taiwan · Thailand · Turkey · Uganda · United Arab Emirates · United States of America · Uruguay · Vietnam
Sources and licences
Govaerts, R. et al. — World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ — CC BY 4.0. Aires par pays botanique (WGSRPD niveau 3).
Sources: Adansonia digitata · Azadirachta indica · Butea monosperma · Calotropis gigantea · Calotropis procera · Cecropia · Ceiba pentandra · Crescentia cujete · Delonix regia · Ficus · Hevea brasiliensis · Larrea tridentata · Mangifera indica · Moringa oleifera · Pandanus · Papaya · Prosopis caldenia · Prosopis juliflora · Samanea saman · Senna siamea · Tectona grandis · Vachellia drepanolobium · Vachellia tortilis · Xylopia aromatica · Pommier de Sodome