Erythrina caffra | |
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Growth habit of a mature tree | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Erythrina |
Species: | E. caffra |
Binomial name | |
Erythrina caffra | |
Erythrina caffra distribution Extant (resident) | |
Synonyms | |
Erythrina viarium Tod. |
Erythrina caffra, the coast coral tree or African coral tree, is a tree native to southeastern Africa, which is often cultivated and has introduced populations in California and India. [1] [2] All the 17 species of coral tree in the genus Erythrina are collectively considered the official tree of Los Angeles, California in the United States. [3]
Erythrina caffra is a medium to large deciduous tree. It grows in coastal bushes and riverine forests along the southeastern coast of South Africa and up into Zululand.
The compound leaves are made up of three leaflets. Each leaflet is broadly ovate to elliptical. The leaflets do not have prickles and are hairless.
The flowers are made up of a main petal and four small petals. The main petal curves back to expose the stamens. The flower colour is warm red to scarlet. This is one of the main differences between Erythrina caffra and Erythrina lysistemon . The flowers form stalked axillary racemes up to 100mm long.
The bark on the plant or tree is relatively smooth with intermittent thorns, and the thorns tend to be sharper on younger branches.
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, are a large and agriculturally important family of flowering plants. It includes trees, shrubs, and perennial or annual herbaceous plants, which are easily recognized by their fruit (legume) and their compound, stipulate leaves. The family is widely distributed, and is the third-largest land plant family in number of species, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with about 765 genera and nearly 20,000 known species.
Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is native to a few small areas of the United States, but it has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas, such as the temperate east coast of Australia where the cultivar 'Frisia'(Golden Robinia) was widely planted as a street tree before being classed as a weed. Another common name is false acacia, a literal translation of the specific name.
Erythrina is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to 30 m (98 ft) in height. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ερυθρóς erythros, meaning "red", referring to the flower color of certain species.
Erythrina crista-galli, often known as the cockspur coral tree, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, notably in California. It is known by several common names within South America: ceibo, seíbo (Spanish), corticeira (Portuguese) and the more ambiguous bucaré, to name a few. Its specific epithet crista-galli means "cock's comb" in Latin.
Intsia bijuga, commonly known as Borneo teak, Johnstone River teak, Kwila, Moluccan ironwood, Pacific teak, scrub mahogany and vesi, is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to the Indo-Pacific. It ranges from Tanzania and Madagascar east through India and Queensland, Australia, Papua New Guinea to the Pacific islands of Fiji and Samoa. It grows to around 50 metres tall with a highly buttressed trunk. It inhabits mangrove forests. Intsia bijuga differ from Intsia palembanica in the number of leaflets that make up their compound leaves.
Erythrina variegata, commonly known as tiger's claw or Indian coral tree, 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 Fiji.
Erythrina vespertilio is a tree native to north and north-east Australia. Its common names are grey corkwood, bat's wing coral tree, yulbah and the more ambiguous "bean tree". In the Western Desert language it is known as ininti and the in Arrernte and Anmatyerr it is known as atywerety.
Vachellia nilotica, more commonly known as Acacia nilotica, and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is also considered a 'weed of national significance' and an invasive species of concern in Australia, as well as a noxious weed by the federal government of the United States.
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, umsintsi (Xhosa), muvhale (Venda), mophete (Tswana), koraalboom of kanniedood (Afrikaans), mokhungwane (Sotho) and umsinsi (Zulu). It is regularly cultivated as a tree for gardens and parks.
Senegalia laeta, the gay acacia or daga, is a legume found in the family Fabaceae. It was formerly included in the genus Acacia.
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. fusca has the widest distribution of any Erythrina species; it is the only one found in both the New and Old World. It grows on coasts and along rivers in tropical Asia, Oceania, the Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, Africa, and the Neotropics.
Erythrina schliebenii is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Tanzania. The species is named for German collector and botanist Hans-Joachim Schlieben.
Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum, known as thorny yellow-wood, satinwood, satin tree or scrub mulga, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It is a rainforest shrub or tree with thick, cone-shaped spines on the trunk and prickles on the branches, pinnate leaves, and male and female flowers arranged in panicles.
In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures, are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically defending plants against herbivory.
Senna didymobotrya is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names African senna, popcorn senna, candelabra tree, and peanut butter cassia. It is native to Africa, where it can be found across the continent in several types of habitats.
Senegalia caffra, also known as hook-thorn or Acacia caffra, is a tree that occurs commonly in southern Africa. Though it is cultivated, it often occurs naturally in Gauteng suburban gardens, together with Acacia karroo and Acacia robusta.
The broad-leaved coral tree is a deciduous tree from southern Africa growing 5 to 8 m tall. It is a member of the Fabaceae and occurs naturally in the Afrotemperate mist-belt of South Africa and Eswatini to the uplands of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and adjacent Botswana. It is often cultivated as a tree for gardens and parks. In Zimbabwe its range overlaps with the similar Erythrina abyssinica.
Combretum apiculatum is a species of tree in the family Combretaceae known by the common name red bushwillow. It is native to the mesic to semi-arid savanna regions of Africa, southwards of the equator.
Erythrina flabelliformis, common name chilicote or western coral bean, is a plant species native to central and northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is known from Baja California as far south as Morelos and as far east as San Luis Potosí, as well as from Arizona and New Mexico.
Intsia palembanica is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Common names include Borneo teak, Malacca teak, merbau and Moluccan ironwood. It is native to tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia and the islands of the southwest Pacific. Intsia palembanica differs from Intsia bijuga in the number of leaflets that make up the compound leaves.