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"Poinciana" is a song to music by Nat Simon and lyrics by Buddy Bernier written in 1936. The tune is based on a Cuban folk tune "La canción del árbol" ("The song of the tree"). The poinciana tree itself, delonix regia, is a tree introduced to Cuba from Madagascar. Glenn Miller performed it in the late 1930s with his civilian band and then again in 1943 using lush strings with his Army Air Force Band. Benny Carter and Bing Crosby both issued versions in 1944.
It was widely popularised in the 1952 film Dreamboat and subsequently became a standard covered by artists including Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Vic Damone, Keith Jarrett, Percy Faith, Diane Schuur, The Four Freshmen, The Manhattan Transfer, Vulfpeck, and Ahmad Jamal, and which featured again in the 1995 film The Bridges of Madison County. In 1978 disco duo Paradise Express recorded a version which made the top 20 on the disco charts.