Erythrina is a genus of
flowering plantThe flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the
peaA pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
family,
FabaceaeThe Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
. It contains about 130
speciesIn biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, which are distributed in
tropicalThe tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
and
subtropicalThe subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
regions worldwide. They are
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, growing up to 30 m (98.4 ft) in height. The generic name is derived from the
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word ερυθρóς (
erythros), meaning "red," referring to the
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
color of certain species.
Erythrina is a genus of
flowering plantThe flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the
peaA pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
family,
FabaceaeThe Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
. It contains about 130
speciesIn biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, which are distributed in
tropicalThe tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
and
subtropicalThe subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
regions worldwide. They are
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, growing up to 30 m (98.4 ft) in height. The generic name is derived from the
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word ερυθρóς (
erythros), meaning "red," referring to the
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
color of certain species.
Particularly in
horticultureHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, the name
coral tree is used as a collective term for these plants.
"Flame treeFlame tree is a common name used in various parts of the world to refer to several different species of tree:* Delonix regia - Royal Poinciana* Brachychiton acerifolius - Illawarra flame tree* Koelreuteria bipinnata - Chinese flame tree...
s" is another vernacular name, but may refer to a number of unrelated plants as well. Many species of
Erythrina have bright red flowers, and this may be the origin of the common name. However, the growth of the branches can resemble the shape of sea
coralCorals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
rather than the color of
Corallium rubrum specifically, and this is an alternative source for the name. Other popular names, usually local and particular to distinct species, liken the flowers' red hues to those of a
male chickenA rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...
's
wattleA wattle is a fleshy dewlap or caruncle hanging from various parts of the head or neck in several groups of birds, goats and other animals. In some birds the caruncle is erectile tissue.The wattle is frequently an organ of sexual dimorphism...
s, and/or the flower shape to its leg spurs. Commonly seen
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
names for any local species are
bucaré,
frejolillo or
porotillo, and in
AfrikaansAfrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
some are called
kaffirboom.
Mullumurikku is a widespread name in
Keralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
Description and ecology
Not all species of
Erythrina have bright red flowers; the
WiliwiliWiliwili is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of Erythrina that naturally occurs there. It is typically found in dry forests on leeward island slopes up to an elevation of .Wiliwili is occasionally seen in...
(
E. sandwicensis) has extraordinary variation in its flower colour, with orange, yellow, salmon, green and white all being found within natural populations. This striking color
polymorphismPolymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph...
is likely unique in the genus.
All species except the
sterileInfertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
hybrid
E. × sykesii have
legume-type fruit, sometimes called pods, containing one of more seeds. The resilient
buoyantIn physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...
seeds are often carried by the sea for large distances and are commonly called "
sea beanDrift seeds and drift fruits are seeds and fruits adapted for long distance dispersal by water. Most are produced by tropical trees, and they can be found on distant beaches after drifting thousands of miles through ocean currents...
s".
Erythrina leaves are used as food plants by the
larvaA larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some
LepidopteraLepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including the swift moth
Endoclita damorEndoclita is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 60 described species found in eastern and southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.- Species :*E. aboe - India*E. absurdus - China*E. actinidae - China...
and the
woolly bearWoolly bear can mean:*The hairy caterpillars of the Arctiidae family of moths*The larva of the varied carpet beetle*A type of thermal undersuit used with drysuits for applications such as scuba diving...
s
Hypercompe eridanus and
Hypercompe icasia. The
miteMites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...
Tydeus munsteriTydeus munsteri is a species of mite belonging to the family Tydeidae. This very small oval, eyeless mite is around 250 μm in length with a soft body covered in striations...
is a pest on the Coastal Coral Tree (
E. caffraErythrina caffra, the Coast Coral Tree, is a tree native to southeastern Africa, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in India. It is the official tree of Los Angeles, California in the United States....
).
Many
birdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s visit the nectar-rich
Erythrina flowers. In the Neotropics, these are usually larger
hummingbirdHummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s, for example the
Swallow-tailed HummingbirdThe Swallow-tailed Hummingbird is a species in the hummingbird family , found mainly in east-central South America. Most authorities place it in the monotypic genus Eupetomena, although some place it in Campylopterus based on song and the thick shafts of the males' first primaries...
(
Eupetomena macroura) and the
Black-throatedThe Black-throated Mango is a mainly South American hummingbird species.-Description:It is 10.2 cm long and weighs 7.2g. The longish black bill is slightly decurved. The tail in both sexes has dark central feathers, the outer tail being wine-red tipped with black.The male has glossy bright...
(
Anthracothorax nigricollis) and
Green-breasted MangoThe Green-breasted Mango is a hummingbird from tropical America. The scientific name of this bird commemorates the French naturalist Florent Prévost.- Description :...
(
A. prevostii) – though they seem not to be especially fond of
E. speciosaErythrina speciosa is a tree native to Brazil, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in Africa and India. It is pollinated by hummingbirds.- External links :*...
at least, which they visit rather opportunistically. In
Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, the
Black DrongoThe Black Drongo , also known as the King Crow, is a small Asian passerine bird of the drongo family Dicruridae. Previously considered a subspecies of the African Fork-tailed Drongo , it is now recognized as a full species...
(
Dicrurus macrocercus) which usually does not eat nectar in quantity has been observed feeding on
E. suberosa flowers, and
mynaThe myna is a bird of the starling family . This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia...
s and of course more specialized
nectar feedersIn zoology, nectarivore is an animal which eats the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Most nectarivores are insects or birds, but there are also nectarivorous mammals, notably several species of bats in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as the Australian Honey Possum...
also utilize coral tree flowers.
LorikeetLories and lorikeets are small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittacidae...
s such as the
Collared LoryThe Collared Lory is a monotypic species of parrot in the Psittacidae family, and it is the only species in the genus Phigys. It is endemic to the islands of Fiji. It is the only Fijian rainforest bird to adapt to urban landscapes and can be found in urban Suva...
(
Phigys solitarius) and the possibly extinct
New Caledonian LorikeetThe New Caledonian Lorikeet Charmosyna diadema is a potentially extinct lorikeet endemic to the Melanesian island of New Caledonia.-Description:...
(
Charmosyna diadema) are known to consume (or have consumed) large amounts of
Erythrina nectar. The seeds are eaten by many birds, including the common Eurasian Blackbird (
Turdus merula).
Use by humans
Some coral trees are used widely in the
tropicsThe tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
and
subtropicsThe subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...
as street and park trees, especially in drier areas. In some places, such as
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
,
bucarés are used as
shade treeA shade tree is any tree grown specifically for its shade. This term usually applies to large trees with spreading canopies. Shade trees are effective in reducing the energy used in cooling homes....
s for coffee or cocoa crops. In the
BengalBengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
region, they are used for the same purpose in
Schumannianthus dichotoma plantations.
E. lanceolata in particular is considered highly suitable as "frame" tree for
vanillaVanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
vineA vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
s to grow up on.
The conspicuous, even dramatic coral trees are widely used as
floral emblemIn a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to adopt these symbols - some are conferred by...
s. Cockspur Coral Tree (
E. crista-galliErythrina crista-galli is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, most notably in California...
) is the national flower of
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and
UruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. The Coastal Coral Tree (
E. caffraErythrina caffra, the Coast Coral Tree, is a tree native to southeastern Africa, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in India. It is the official tree of Los Angeles, California in the United States....
) is the official city tree of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is referred to simply as the "coral tree". The state trees of
MéridaMérida State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Mérida.Mérida State covers a total surface area of 11,300 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 843,800.- Climate and Vegetation :...
and
TrujilloTrujillo State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. Its capital is Trujillo. The state is divided into 20 municipalities and 93 parishes. Trujillo State covers a total surface area of 7,400 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 711,400....
in
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
are
bucaré ceibo (
E. poeppigiana) and Purple Coral Tree (
bucaré anauco, E. fuscaErythrina fusca is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is known by many common names, including purple coraltree, gallito, bois immortelle, bucayo, and the more ambiguous "bucare" and "coral bean". E...
), respectively.
Yonabaru, Okinawais a town located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 15,405 and a density of 3,069 persons per km². The total area is 5.02 km², making it the second smallest municipality in Okinawa....
as well as the
Okinawa Prefectureis one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
and
Pathum Thani Province have the Indian Coral Tree (
E. variegataErythrina variegata is a species of Erythrina native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, northern Australia, and the islands of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean east to...
) as floral emblems. Known as
thong lang in
ThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, the latter species is also one of the
thong ("trees") referred to in the name of
Amphoe Chom Thong, Chiang Mai ProvinceChom Thong is a district in the southern part of Chiang Mai Province in northern Thailand.Chom Thong district, a district in Chiang Mai. Chom Thong district, a large district. That are critical of Chiang Mai. A history over 200 years, classified as a Class 1 District, organized by level of...
. In a similar vein,
ZumpahuacánZumpahuacán is a town and municipality in México State. The name “Zumpahuacán” comes from the Nahuatl language "Tzompahuacán". Tzompahuacán means "place of the strawberry tree" Zumpahuacán is a town and municipality in México State. The name “Zumpahuacán” comes from the Nahuatl language...
in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
derives its name from
NahuatlNahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
tzompahuacá, "place of the
Erythrina americana". In
VietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, people use the leaves of
E. variegata to wrap
nem (a kind of fermented pork).
In
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, the
mandara tree in
Indra' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
's garden in
SvargaIn Hinduism, Svarga is a set of heavenly worlds located on and above Mt. Meru. It is a heaven where the righteous live in a paradise before their next reincarnation...
is held to be
E. stricta. The same motif is found in
Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
, where the
man da ra ba growing in
SukhavatiSukhāvatī refers to the western Pure Land of the Buddha Amitābha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Sukhāvatī translates to "Land of Bliss."-In other languages:In traditional Mahayana Buddhist countries, there are a number of translations for Sukhāvatī....
is identified as an Indian Coral Tree (
E. variegata). The concept of the
Five Trees"Five Trees" in Paradise is a mysterious allegory or concept from famous Coptic Gospel of Thomas NHC 2: 19th saying/logia of Jesus and other sources of religious mythology....
of
ParadiseParadise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
is also found in Christian
GnosticismGnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
. Though as none of the trees is identified as an
Erythrina here, the concept might not be as directly related to the Asian religions as some presume.
The seeds of at least one-third of the species contain potent erythrina alkaloids, and some of these are used for medicinal and other purposes by indigenous peoples. They are all toxic to some degree however, and the seeds of some can cause fatal poisoning. The main active compounds in this genus generally seem to be
alkaloidAlkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s, such as
scoulerineScoulerine, also known as discretamine and aequaline, is an alkaloid found in the Opium poppy, Croton flavens, and certain plants in the Erythrina genus. Studies show that scoulerine is an antagonist at the α2-adrenoceptor, α1D-adrenoceptor and 5-HT receptor. It has also been found to be a GABAA...
, erysodin and erysovin (namely in
E. flabelliformis), and the putative
anxiolyticAn anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...
erythravineErythravine is a tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid found in the plant Erythrina mulungu. It has anxiolytic effects in animal models of anxiety....
(isolated from
MulunguErythrina mulungu is a Brazilian ornamental tree and medicinal plant native to the cerrado and caatinga ecoregions in Brazil , South America....
,
E. mulungu). Except for
ornamentalOrnamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
purposes, growing, selling or possessing
Erythrina is prohibited by
Louisiana State Act 159Signed into law June 28, 2005 and effective August 8, 2005, Louisiana State Act No 159 found in, Louisiana RS 40:989.1, outlawed the cultivation, possession or sale of 40 known hallucinogenic plants in the state of Louisiana...
(where the genus is misspelled
Erythina).
Selected species
_img_2097.jpg)
- Erythrina abyssinica
Erythrina abyssinica is a tree species of the genus Erythrina belonging to the plant family of the Fabaceae described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1825. This leguminous tree species is native to East Africa and Eastern DRC....
Lam. ex DC. (East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
)
- Erythrina americana Mill.
Philip Miller FRS was a Scottish botanist.Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death...
– Colorín, Tzompāmitl (MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
)
- Erythrina ankaranensis
Erythrina ankaranensis is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Madagascar.-Source:* Du Puy, D. & Labat, H. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Du Puy & Labat (MadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
)
- Erythrina atitlanensis Krukoff & Barneby
Rupert Charles Barneby was a British-born self-taught botanist whose primary specialty was the Fabaceae , the pea family, but he also worked on Menispermaceae and numerous other groups...
- Erythrina berteroana Urb.
Ignatz Urban was a German botanist. He is known for his contributions to the flora of the Caribbean and Brazil, and for his work as curator of the Berlin Botanical Garden. Born the son of a brewer, Urban showed an interest in botany as an undergraduate...
- Erythrina burana
Erythrina burana is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Ethiopia.- Source :* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Chiov.Emilio Chiovenda was an Italian botanist.He collected in Italy, Eritrea and Ethiopia, especially the he Ruwenzori Mountains, from 1893 to 1909....
(EthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
)
- Erythrina caffra
Erythrina caffra, the Coast Coral Tree, is a tree native to southeastern Africa, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in India. It is the official tree of Los Angeles, California in the United States....
Thunb.Carl Peter Thunberg aka Carl Pehr Thunberg aka Carl Per Thunberg was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. He has been called "the father of South African botany" and the "Japanese Linnaeus"....
– Coastal Coral Tree (Southeastern Africa)
- Erythrina corallodendron L. (Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
, JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
)
- Erythrina coralloides
Erythrina coralloides is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that ranges from Arizona in the United States south to Oaxaca in Mexico....
D.C.Augustin Pyramus de Candolle also spelled Augustin Pyrame de Candolle was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at an herbarium...
– Flame Coral Tree, Naked Coral Tree (ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
)
- Erythrina crista-galli
Erythrina crista-galli is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, most notably in California...
L. – Cockspur Coral Tree, ceibo, seíbo, bucaré (ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, UruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, ParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
)
- Erythrina decora Harms
- Erythrina edulis
Erythrina edulis is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is native to the Andes. The tree grows up to 8m in height, and its seeds are often used in salads....
Micheli – Basul (AndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
)
- Erythrina eggersii
Erythrina eggersii is a vine or tree in the Fabaceae family which is commonly known as Cock's-spur, Espuelo de Gallo, or Pinon Espinoso. It is native to Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where it is threatened by the act of habitat loss.-Source:* World...
Krukoff & Moldenke – Cock's-spur, espuela de gallo, piñón espinoso (United States Virgin IslandsThe Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
, Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
)
- Erythrina elenae
Erythrina elenae is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family.It is found only in Cuba. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Areces-Mallea, A.E. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Howard & Briggs (CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
)
- Erythrina euodiphylla
Erythrina euodiphylla is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Indonesia.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Hassk.Justus Carl Hasskarl was a Dutch explorer and botanist specialising in Pteridophytes, Bryophytes and Spermatophytes.-Biography:He was cofounder of the Society of natural Curiosities of India, in Bavaria...
ex Backh. (IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
)
- Erythrina falcata
Erythrina falcata , commonly known as the Brazilian Coral Tree, is a timber tree native to Atlantic Forest vegetation in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina...
Benth.George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
– Brazilian Coral Tree (Brazil)
- Erythrina flabelliformis Kearney
- Erythrina fusca
Erythrina fusca is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is known by many common names, including purple coraltree, gallito, bois immortelle, bucayo, and the more ambiguous "bucare" and "coral bean". E...
Lour.João de Loureiro was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, paleontologist, physician and botanist.In 1742 he travelled to Cochinchina, remaining there for 30 years. He became a specialist in Asian flora and on his return published Flora Cochinchinensis .- References :...
– Purple Coral Tree, bois immortelle, bucaré anauco, bucayo, gallito (PantropicalIn biogeography, a pantropical distribution one which covers tropical regions of all of the major continents, i.e. in Africa, in Asia and in the Americas. Examples include the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa....
)
- Erythrina haerdii
Erythrina haerdii is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Tanzania.-Source:* Lovett, J. & Clarke, G.P. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Verdc.Bernard Verdcourt was a biologist and taxonomist, most widely known as a botanist and latterly an Honorary Research Fellow at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. Prior to coming to Kew in 1964, he was associated with the East African Herbarium for 15 years...
(TanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
)
- Erythrina hazomboay
Erythrina hazomboay is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Madagascar.-Source:* Du Puy, D. & Labat, H. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Du Puy & Labat (MadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
)
- Erythrina herbacea L. – Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Red Cardinal, Cardinal Spear (Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
, Northeastern MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
)
- Erythrina humeana
Erythrina humeana is an ornamental tree and medicinal plant native to South Africa.-External links:**...
Spreng. – Natal Coral Tree, Dwarf Coral Tree, Dwarf Kaffirboom, Dwarf Erythrina (South Africa)
- Erythrina lanceolata Standl.
- Erythrina latissima E.Mey.
- Erythrina lysistemon
Erythrina lysistemon is a species of deciduous tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to South Africa. Common names include Common Coral Tree, Lucky Bean Tree, Kaffir Boom, Transvaal Kafferboom, Umsintsi , Muvhale , Mophete , Kanniedood , Mokhungwane and Umsinsi...
Hutch.John Hutchinson, OBE, FRS was a renowned English botanist, taxonomist and author.-Life and career:...
– Common Coral Tree, Transvaal Kaffirboom, Lucky Bean Tree (South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
)
- Erythrina madagascariensis
Erythrina madagascariensis is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Madagascar.-References:* Du Puy, D. & Labat, H. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Du Puy & Labat (MadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
)
- Erythrina megistophylla
Erythrina megistophylla is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family.It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:...
(EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
)
- Erythrina mulungu
Erythrina mulungu is a Brazilian ornamental tree and medicinal plant native to the cerrado and caatinga ecoregions in Brazil , South America....
Diels Mart. – Mulungu (Brazil)
- Erythrina perrieri
Erythrina perrieri is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Madagascar.-Source:* Du Puy, D. & Labat, H. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
R.Viguier (Madagascar)
- Erythrina poeppigiana (Walp.
Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers was a German botanist. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Walp. when citing a botanical name.-Works:*Repertorium botanices systematicæ...
) O.F.CookOrator Fuller Cook was an American botanist, entomologist, and agronomist. Cook, born in Clyde, New York in 1867, graduated from Syracuse University in 1890. He worked for one year as an instructor at Syracuse. In 1891 Cook became a special agent of the New York State Colonization Society. He...
– bucare ceibo
- Erythrina polychaeta
Erythrina polychaeta is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family.It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Neill, D. & Pitman, N. 2004. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
HarmsHermann August Theodor Harms was a German taxonomist and botanist. In 1938 he revised the pitcher plant genus Nepenthes, dividing it into three subgenera: Anurosperma, Eunepenthes and Mesonepenthes....
(EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
)
- Erythrina rubrinervia Kunth
Carl Sigismund Kunth , also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist...
- Erythrina sacleuxii
Erythrina sacleuxii is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania.-Source:* Lovett, J. & Clarke, G.P. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Hua (KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Tanzania)
- Erythrina sandwicensis
Wiliwili is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of Erythrina that naturally occurs there. It is typically found in dry forests on leeward island slopes up to an elevation of .Wiliwili is occasionally seen in...
O.Deg.Otto Degener was a botanist and conservationist who specialized in identifying plants of the Hawaiian Islands.-Life:Otto Degener was born May 13, 1899 in East Orange, New Jersey. Degener graduated from the Massachusetts Agricultural College...
– Wiliwili (HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
)
- Erythrina schimpffii
Erythrina schimpffii is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Ecuador. Its natural habitat is both the subtropical and tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Neill, D. & Pitman, N. 2004. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Diels (EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
)
- Erythrina schliebenii
Erythrina schliebenii was a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It was found only in Tanzania.-Source:* Lovett, J. & Clarke, G.P. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
HarmsHermann August Theodor Harms was a German taxonomist and botanist. In 1938 he revised the pitcher plant genus Nepenthes, dividing it into three subgenera: Anurosperma, Eunepenthes and Mesonepenthes....
– Lake Latumba Erythrina (extinctIn biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
: 1938)
- Erythrina senegalensis DC.
- Erythrina speciosa
Erythrina speciosa is a tree native to Brazil, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in Africa and India. It is pollinated by hummingbirds.- External links :*...
Andrews (BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
)
- Erythrina stricta Roxb. – Mandara (Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
)
- Erythrina suberosa Roxb.
- Erythrina tahitensis
Erythrina tahitensis is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family endemic to French Polynesia.-Source:* Florence, J. 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Nadeaud (TahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
)
- Erythrina tuxtlana
Erythrina tuxtlana is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Mexico.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....
Krukoff & Barneby (Mexico)
- Erythrina variegata
Erythrina variegata is a species of Erythrina native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, northern Australia, and the islands of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean east to...
L. – Indian Coral Tree, Tiger's Claw, Sunshine Tree, Roluos Tree (Cambodia), deigo (Okinawa), drala (Fiji), madar (Bangladesh), man da ra ba (Tibet), thong lang (Thailand), vông nem (Vietnam)
- Erythrina velutina
Erythrina velutina is a species of leguminous tree. It is indigenous to Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Hispaniola and has been introduced to much of the Caribbean, Uganda, and Sri Lanka. It also occurs on the Galápagos Islands, but whether it is indigenous or introduced there is...
Willd. (CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, South AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Galápagos IslandsThe Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
)
- Erythrina vespertilio
Erythrina vespertilio is a tree native to north and north-east Australia. Its common names are Grey Corkwood, Bat's Wing Coral Tree, and the more ambiguous "bean tree". In the Western Desert language it is also known as ininti....
Benth.George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
– Bat's Wing Coral Tree, Grey Corkwood, "bean tree" (AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
)
- Erythrina zeyheri Harv. – Ploughbreaker
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
HorticulturalHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
hybrids:
- Erythrina ×bidwillii
Erythrina ×bidwillii is the scientific name for two different cultivars produced from hybridising Erythrina species at Camden Park Estate, New South Wales, Australia, in the early 1840s by William Macarthur, one of the most active and influential horticulturists in Australia.The two different...
Lindl.John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
- Erythrina ×sykesii Barneby & Krukoff
Formerly placed here
- Butea monosperma
Butea monosperma is a species of Butea native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia...
(Lam.) Taub. (as E. monosperma Lam.)
- Piscidia piscipula
Piscidia piscipula, commonly named Florida fishpoison tree, Jamaican dogwood or Fishfuddle, is a medium-sized, deciduous, tropical tree endemic to southern Florida, the Florida Keys, Texas, Caribbean, and Latin America. Native Americans of the West Indies discovered extracts from the tree could...
(L.) Sarg (as E. piscipula L.)
External links