Erythrina coralloides

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Naked coral tree
Erythrina americana ( Hernan Garcia Crespo) 001.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Erythrina
Species:
E. coralloides
Binomial name
Erythrina coralloides
Erythrina coralloides with a hummingbird Erythrina americana (Felix E. Guerrero) 001.jpg
Erythrina coralloides with a hummingbird

Erythrina coralloides (flame coral tree, naked coral tree) is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to eastern Mexico. It ranges from Tamaulipas south to Oaxaca, [1] and some taxonomists believe it is also native to southern Arizona in the United States. [2]

Contents

Description

Erythrina coralloides is a tree reaching a height of 12 m. Its seeds are elliptic, smooth, glossy, coral-red, with a salient longitudinal line on the back, and with a white hilum surrounded by a black border.

Uses

Its white wood is used for making bungs and, especially in San Luis Potosí, figurines. The clusters of red and white flowers on the Naked Coral Tree make it an attractive ornamental. The flowers are also used as a food source.

Phytochemistry

The seeds are very poisonous, containing erythroidine, a powerful muscle relaxant; erythroresin, an emetic; coralin; and erythric acid. The extract has been suggested as a substitute for curare. An analysis by Rio de la Loza showed the seeds contain 13.35 solid and liquid fat, 0.32 resin soluble in ether, 13.47 resin soluble in alcohol, 1.61 erythrococalloidine, an alkaloid, 5.60 albumen, 0.83 gum, 1.55 sugar, 0.42 organic acid, 15.87 starch, 7.15 moisture and 39.15 inorganic matter.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Erythrina coralloides". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  2. Burrows, George E.; Ronald J. Tyrl (2012). Toxic Plants of North America (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 544. ISBN   978-0-8138-2034-7.