Tipuana tipu, Machaerium tipu, Tipuana speciosa,
Pride of Bolivia, Rosewood, Tipu Tree,
Hebrew: מכנף נאה, Arabic: بليسندر جميله

Scientific name:		Tipuana tipu (Benth.) Kuntze
Synonym name:		Machaerium tipu Benth., Tipuana speciosa Benth.
Common name:		Pride of Bolivia, Rosewood, Tipu Tree
Hebrew name:		מכנף נאה
Arabic name:		بليسندر جميله
Family:		Fabaceae, Pea family, משפחה קטניות

Life form:		Deciduous tree, ornamental
Stems:		14m high 22m diameter; reddish-brown fissured bark
Leaves:		Pinnated leaves, leaflets 3-5cm long by 1.2-2cm wide, buttock-shaped tips
Inflorescence:		Loosely branched terminal panicles
Flowers:		Corolla yellow, 20 mm in diameter, petals 5, the standard is 15-18 mm long, calyx 8-9 mm, with short triangular teeth
Fruits / pods:		Broad-winged pods
Flowering Period:		May, June
Habitat:		Disturbed land
Distribution:		Throuhout the country
Chorotype:		South America, Southern South America: Argentina, Western South America: Bolivia
Summer shedding:		Perennating

Derivation of the botanical name: Tipuana, named after the Tipuana valley in Paraná (Brazil) where the best gold was found. tipu, from a vernacular name for this tree in Southern Brazil. The standard author abbreviation Benth. is used to indicate George Bentham (1800 – 1884) ,an English botanist. The standard author abbreviation Kuntze is used to indicate Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (1843 – 1907), a German botanist. In Israel, it's use as an ornamental tree began in the 1970s and 80s, when it was often planted as a shade tree for boulevards, gardens and groves throuhout the country.