Tecoma stans is a species of flowering perennial shrub in the trumpet vine family, Bignoniaceae, that is native to the Americas. Common names include yellow trumpetbush, yellow bells, yellow elder, ginger-thomas.
Tecoma stans, commonly called yellow bells, is native to the West Indies, Florida, and Mexico to South America. It is a broadleaf evergreen shrub or small tree that grows from 10’ to 25’ tall and features a lengthy bloom of bright yellow tubular flowers. It is typically sold by nurseries in the St. Louis area as a container plant for patios in somewhat the same manner as Mandevilla and Bougainvillea. It features odd pinnate medium green leaves with ovate-oblong toothed leaflets (2-4” long). Trumpet-shaped bright yellow flowers (to 2” long) in axillary and terminal racemes bloom continuously from late spring to frost. Flowers are slightly fragrant. Flowers are followed by narrow bean-like capsules (to 8” long) that are filled with papery-winged seeds. Common names for Tecoma stans plants include trumpet bush, esperanza (Spanish for hope), yellow elder, yellow bells or yellow bignonia. Genus name comes from an abbreviated from the Mexican name tecomaxochitl.
