Gmelina philippensis

With a flowering structure unlike anything we’ve seen before, Yellow Lobster Claw is one of the coolest new tropicals we’ve grown lately. Its growth habit is that of a scandant shrub similar to a Bouganvillea, producing large yellow paired flowers on the ends of dangling tube-like structures made up of numerous over-lapping bracts. We were not only amazed by its exotic blooms, but also by its continued flower production during the multiple 110 degree days of summer 2011. Like Bouganvillea it has a few spines and looks best if it has some sort of small support it can be tied to if needed.