A Review on Warszewiczia coccinea (Vahl) Klotzsch – the ‘Chaconia’
Keywords:
Warszewiczia coccinea, Chaconia, Pride of Trinidad, Dendrology, national flower of Trinidad and Tobago,Abstract
Warszewiczia coccineaan evergreen shrub to a small tree belonging to the family Rubiaceae, is found primarily in Central and South America and in Trinidad, where it grows in abundance in moist, semi-shaded, flat lands and the lower wooded hillsides. The plant, is known as Wild Poinsettia, Pride of Trinidad and Chaconia, the last of these is thought to commemorate the last Spanish governor of Trinidad, General Chacon. The plant is an evergreen shrub to small tree 4 - 6 m in height, which flowers at intervals throughout the year, particularly in the wet months from about February to November. A plant thought to be a mutant of W. coccinea was discovered in Trinidad in 1957 and was assigned the cultivar name ‘David Auyong.’ The reproductive biology, methods of propagation and known pests and diseases of the plant are recorded.
