Yellow bells, Esperanza, Yellow trumpet flower, Yellow elder, Ginger Thomas, Yellow trumpetbush

Native to the Americas, this showy flowering perennial shrub has also found a welcoming home in the Caribbean, thriving throughout The Bahamas and the Virgin Islands.

For many generations, Virgin Islanders have used the T. stans’ leaves to treat fevers, headaches, high blood pressure, and to help fight diabetes. They also used the plant’s wood in many aspects of their housing: in construction of traditional bahareque architecture, in furniture making, as fuel for heating and cooking. The plant’s indispensability multiplied by its pulchritude earned T. stans a status of the Official Flower of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In California, this vigorous, drought-tolerant shrub can be seen in rocky or sandy fields in dry and sunny regions of the coast. Its average height and width are ten to twenty feet (about 3 to 6 meters). Beginning Spring, the plants clothe themselves with clusters of mesmerizingly bright yellow flowers, referred to as “the splash of sun.” In the Fall, the shrub bears bean-pod-shaped fruits, which upon opening release a multitude of yellow seeds harbored inside.

In the warm climate of Woodland Hills, T. stans remains evergreen and blooms all year round, nourishing winter hummingbirds with its slightly fragrant blossoms. The plant’s heat/drought tolerance and spectacular floral display make T. stans a popular landscaping plant, either as a single specimen or mixed into a shrub border.

Height: 10 to 25 feet
Width: 10 to 20 feet
Spacing: 4 feet

Soil: clay, loam, sand, moist but well-drained
pH: acid, alkaline, neutral
Exposure: full to partial sun

Water: low, average
Tolerance: drought tolerant

Wildlife: attracts hummingbirds and butterflies

Coconut Post. (2023, July). Ginger Thomas - Official Flower of the USVI. Virgin Island News and Views. https://www.fbrvi.com/ginger-thomas-official-flower-of-the-usvi/

Gardenia. (n.d.). Tecoma stans (Yellow Bells). https://www.gardenia.net/plant/tecoma-stans

Peter, C. (2024, January 4). Yellow Trumpet Flower (Tecoma stans). iNaturalist. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48363-Tecoma-stans

VI Now - The US Virgin Islands Best Guide. (n.d.). Flowers of the Virgin Islands. https://www.vinow.com/blog/nature/flowers-of-the-virgin-islands/