Erythrina lysistemon
Encyclopedia
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 (Xhosa
), Muvhale (Venda
), Mophete (Tswana
), Kanniedood (Afrikaans
), Mokhungwane (Sotho) and Umsinsi (Zulu
). It is regularly cultivated as a tree for gardens and parks.
with 3 leaflet
s, up to 7 in (17.8 cm) long, petiole
and midrib prickly. The tree is leafless for up to 4 or 5 months of the year. The lovely scarlet red flower
s are borne in dense raceme
s in spring before leaves and attract numerous birds and insects to the garden. It is hardy to USDA Zone 9b
, providing food and shelter for a variety of birds, animals and insects.
Erythrina lysistemon is also widely used and enjoyed by mankind. They have been regarded as royal trees, and were planted on the graves of Zulu chiefs.
The flowering of the trees has been, and still is, a good signal to the people that it is time to plant their crops.
The seeds are used as lucky charms. They also contain toxic alkaloid
s as well as anti-blood-clotting substances that may be of value in the treatment of thrombosis
.
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree
Tree
A 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...
in the pea
Pea
A 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, Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The 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...
, that is native to South Africa
South Africa
The 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...
. Common names include Common Coral Tree, Lucky Bean Tree, Kaffir Boom, Transvaal Kafferboom, Umsintsi (Xhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
), Muvhale (Venda
Venda language
Venda, also known as or , is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo Province, but about 10% of speakers live in Zimbabwe. The Venda language is related to Kalanga which is spoken in Botswana...
), Mophete (Tswana
Tswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
), Kanniedood (Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans 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...
), Mokhungwane (Sotho) and Umsinsi (Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
). It is regularly cultivated as a tree for gardens and parks.
Description
Common Coral Tree reaches 30 to 40 ft (9.1 to 12.2 m) in height, with smooth grayish bark, not corky; hooked prickles scattered on trunk and branches; leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
with 3 leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s, up to 7 in (17.8 cm) long, petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
and midrib prickly. The tree is leafless for up to 4 or 5 months of the year. The lovely scarlet red flower
Flower
A 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...
s are borne in dense raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s in spring before leaves and attract numerous birds and insects to the garden. It is hardy to USDA Zone 9b
Uses
Erythrina lysistemon is a very decorative tree but it is also an important component of the ecosystemEcosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
, providing food and shelter for a variety of birds, animals and insects.
Erythrina lysistemon is also widely used and enjoyed by mankind. They have been regarded as royal trees, and were planted on the graves of Zulu chiefs.
The flowering of the trees has been, and still is, a good signal to the people that it is time to plant their crops.
The seeds are used as lucky charms. They also contain toxic alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids 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 as well as anti-blood-clotting substances that may be of value in the treatment of thrombosis
Thrombosis
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...
.