Amherstia nobilis
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
 
Type : Live plant
Size : 6"- 10" Inches
 
Perhaps the most beautiful of flowering tropical trees, certainly attractive enough to earn the sobriquet Queen of Flowering Trees. It has only been collected from the wild a couple of times in asia. Leading to its common name Pride of Burma. The tree has compound leaves and a great profusion of large, irregular, yellow-spotted scarlet flowers. The genus is named after Lady Sarah Amherst, who collected plants in Asia in the early Nineteenth century. Not only is she commemorated in one of the most beautiful of the worlds trees, she also lends her name to Lady Amherst pheasant one of the most elegant birds. The new leaves are produced in flaccid pale tassels that turn purplish before they green and open out. When not in flower, Amherstia looks similar to Saracca, another Asian legume genus. The leaves unfurl in handkerchief fashion like the Brownea and Maniltoa. New leaf growth is reddish, hangs down at first.
 
The flowers and leaves are sometimes eaten. This is considered to be one of the most beautiful flowering trees in the world. Extremely rare in the wild, it is a delicate, slow-growing plant that rarely sets seed and is difficult to grow. It is not often found in gardens
 
Amherstia nobilis is suitable for avenue planting as well as landscape gardening. Proud-of-Burma makes a spectacular park shade tree for hot, humid tropical regions.
 
 
Cultivation Details
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Prefers a moist, humus-rich, fertile soil in a humid, sunny to partially shaded position.This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.
 

Edible Uses
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Young leaves
Flowers