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Native Plant Society of Texas

Esperanza

Tecoma stans

Other common name(s):

Yellow Bells

Family:

Bignoniaceae (Trumpet Creeper Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

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Chihuahuan Deserts, Edwards Plateau, Southern Texas Plains
Chihuahuan Basins and Playas, Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Chihuahuan Montane Woodlands, Low Mountains and Bajadas, Stockton Plateau
Balcones Canyonlands
Rio Grande Floodplain and Terraces, Texas-Tamaulipan Thornscrub

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Shrub

Height

4
to
8
ft.

Spread

3
to
5
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Loam, Clay, Limestone, Well Drained, Dry

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Low, Medium

Native Habitat

Grassland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Orange, Yellow

Bloom Season

Spring, Summer, Fall

Seasonal Interest

Seeds, Forage, Nectar, Larval Host

Wildlife Benefit

Browsers, Butterflies, Small Mammals, Hummingbirds, Moths

Maintenance

Does well in hot, dry weather. Cut back dead stems after cold damage, but before new spring growth. Plants native to the southwestern U.S. and adjacent Mexico are shorter, more drought-tolerant, and more cold-tolerant than some of the cultivars. Although it is native to the Trans Pecos and Southern Plains Ecoregions of Texas, it has become a popular landscaping plant, valued as much for its drought-tolerance as for its spectacular flowers. Propagation: seed, softwood cutting.

Comments

Blooms April-November. An irregular shaped shrub. Compound leaves are divided into 5–13 elliptic to lanceolate leaflets, with serrated margins, with lighter in color below. Trumpet-shaped, yellow flowers occur in clusters in terminal racemes. The fruit is a long, thin legume pod. There are many cultivars that vary in leaf shape and flower color not covered in this database. Larval host: Dogface Butterfly. .
Previous Scientific Name(s): Bignonia stans, Stenolobium stans, Tecoma stans var. angustata

References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 262 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=TEST. 4) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Tecoma+stans&formsubmit=Search+Terms. 5) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=5003&locationType=County&mapType=Normal, 6) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=34326#null, 7) Native and Adapted Landscape Plants, City of Austin and Texas A&M, 2014., 8) https://aggie-hort.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2009/jun09/Esperanza.html
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