Here are a couple of photos taken last week of an orange tree from Costa Rica. They seem to be all over the country at this time of the year and are quite striking. When I asked a Tico what the tree was, he said it was a spring flowering tree - not much help! Does anyone know what this tree is called?
Can't see enough detail to tell for sure, but compare with this pic of Butea frondosa I took in N Thailand a bit over a year ago.
Lacking detail as already noted - not easy. Using "A Guide to Tropical Plants of Costa Rica" and picking out plants from its common trees in cultivation chapter, I'll suggest Erythrina poeppigiana, but with a lot of reservation.
Yes, Erythrina poeppigiana seems a better suggestion. I suggested Butea in complete ignorance of whether it is cultivated in Costa Rica, whereas that E. poeppigiana seems to be widely planted and naturalized there. Still, from a distance they could easily be confused. I have on order my own copy of "Tropical Plants of Costa Rica" (new paperback edition) but Amazon.com have just informed me that they still don't have it available. It looks amazingly good value at $23. The lack of good books on neotropical plants has always been frustrating.
It helps to have the right resource on hand! Tony - you'll enjoy the book. I find it a bit difficult to navigate, but overall a field guide well worth having.
