AFRICAN TULIP TREE

This deciduous tree with giant blossoms is native to Africa. It's also called the nandi flame tree. I took this picture in very late afternoon with sunlight streaming directly onto the side of the cluster of flowers. Each flower is four to six inches long and three inches across. The cluster of blossoms is often a foot across. The blossoms are so brilliant and profuse that the trees growing along coastal Africa served as navigational points in the time of sailing ships.