Plate 067 · branch with flowers, samaras and spittlebug foam IdentificationFive marks on the plate
- 1Compound leaf with 11 to 25 leaflets.
- 2Oblong leaflets with a notched tip.
- 3Yellow pea-like flowers, with reddish streaks.
- 4Single-winged samara, seed at the base.
- 5Spittlebug foam on the twigs.
Easily confused with Tipa coloradaPterogyne nitensAlso has samaras, but the seed sits in the middle of the wing. PacaráEnterolobium contortisiliquumBipinnate leaves with tiny leaflets and an ear-shaped pod. 067 / 100 · PLANTS · FABACEAELEAST CONCERN Tipu Tree
Tipuana tipu
Tipa blanca · Pride of Bolivia
It is one of the largest trees of the foothill forest, with a broad, flat crown. In spring it is covered in yellow flowers. Sap-sucking spittlebugs live on its twigs inside foam and make the tree seem to rain.
- Tree height
- up to c. 30 m
- Altitude
- c. 400 – 1,200 m
- Flowering
- Oct – Dec
- Fruit
- single-winged samara
- Foothill forest
- Legume
- Winged seed
- Street tree
Altitude rangeQueen of the foothills
Foothill forest It dominates the foothill forest alongside pacará, between c. 400 and 900 m, and reaches c. 1,200 m more sparsely.
EcologyFlowers, wind and foam
- Beesvisit the yellow flowers
- Samaras on the windspin like propellers as they fall
- SpittlebugCephisus siccifolius · sucks sap
- Plenty of lightcrown emerges above the forest
Spittlebug nymphs hide in foam and drip off the excess liquid. A fine rain falls beneath the tree.
Life cycleFlowers in spring, wings in autumn
J F M A M J J A S O N D FloweringRipe samaras - Yellow bloom. It flowers from October to December with clusters of pea-like flowers.
- Seed with a wing. The samara has its seed at the base and a wing that makes it spin.
- Deciduous. It loses much of its foliage in late winter.
Where to look in Tucumán- Sierra de San Javier
- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle
- Parque Provincial La Florida
- Quebrada de Lules
- Río Los Sosa