Erythrina crista-galli

Last updated

Erythrina crista-galli
Erythrina crista-galli flowers 7th Brigade Park Chermside P1190186.jpg
Flowers
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
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. crista-galli
Binomial name
Erythrina crista-galli
L.
Synonyms [2]
List
  • Corallodendron crista-galli(L.) Kuntze
  • Erythrina crista-galliL. var. hasskarliiBacker
  • Erythrina crista-galliL. var. leucochlora Lombardo
  • Erythrina fasciculataBenth.
  • Erythrina laurifoliaJacq.
  • Erythrina pulcherrimaTod.
  • Erythrina speciosaTod. (However, E. speciosa Andrews is a distinct species.)
  • Micropteryx crista-galliWalp.
  • Micropteryx fasciculataWalp.
  • Micropteryx laurifoliaWalp.

Erythrina crista-galli, also known as the cockspur coral tree, ceibo (in Spanish) or corticeira (in Portuguese), is a species of 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. Its specific epithet crista-galli means "cock's comb" in Latin.

Contents

It is the national tree of Argentina, and its flower the national flower of Argentina and Uruguay.

Description

A tree blooming in Brisbane, Australia Erythrina crista-galli flowers, 7th Brigade Park, Chermside IMGP6687.jpg
A tree blooming in Brisbane, Australia

Erythrina crista-galli is a small tree, the girth of its trunk measuring 50 cm (20 in). Normally it grows 5–8 m (16–26 ft) tall, although some individuals, such as in the Argentine provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán, can grow up to 10 m (33 ft). The woody trunk of the tree is equipped with irregular and thorny branches and can reach 50 cm in circumference.

The root is a taproot with nodules produced by nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The bacteria live in symbiosis with the tree, facilitating the tree's absorption of nitrogen in return for organic substances which the bacteria need. The tree's trunk is woody with irregular, spiny branches. These branches form a layer without definite form [3] and die after flowering.

Flowers and fruit

Flowers Erythrina crista-galli OB UJ Krakow 2017-09-28 5744.jpg
Flowers
A tree in an urban park in Rosario, Argentina Erythrina crista-galli 2-3.jpg
A tree in an urban park in Rosario, Argentina

The red flower, arranged in inflorescences of the raceme type, is pentameric, complete, and of bilateral symmetry. Its calyx is gamosepalous, like a little red thimble. The corolla, like that of other legumes like common beans, is butterfly-shaped; however, the largest petal, called the "standard", is arranged in the lower part. The two of the petals called "wings" are so small that they are practically hidden within the calyx. The remaining two petals partially fuse together on occasion and form the flower's keel or "carina"; this protects its reproductive organs. The androecium consists of ten stamens, one free and nine united by their filaments (gynostemial androecium). The unicarpel gynoecium is welded between the stamens like a knife in its sheath.

The tree flowers in the summer, from October to April in their native South America and from April to October in the northern hemisphere. It usually blooms from November to February.

The flowers are rich in nectar and are visited by insects, which usually have to crawl underneath the carina and thus pollinate the flowers.

Seeds Erythrina crista-galli MHNT.BOT.2007.52.19.jpg
Seeds

The tree's fruit is a legume, a dry pod a few centimeters in length derived from a single carpel and contains about 8-10 chestnut-brown bean-shaped seeds. The cotyledons are hypogeal, staying underground upon germination.

Cultivation

In cultivation in the United Kingdom this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. [4] [5] In urban settings, it is often planted in parks for its bright red flowers.

Distribution

It is distributed throughout northeastern and central western Argentina, eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil, much of Paraguay, and almost all of Uruguay. It lives in low, flood-prone places, and along the watercourses of the Chaco and the Eastern Region. It does not inhabit high forests or dry places without floods, as it tolerates water-saturated soils very well.

This species characteristically grows wild in gallery forest ecosystems along watercourses, as well as in swamps and wetlands.

Uses

It has dyeing and medicinal applications: its bark is used to treat rheumatism wounds and serves as a diuretic antispasmodic; its resin can cure intestinal diseases; Its leaves contain camphor comma that helps wound healing and has anti-inflammatory properties for tumors. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabaceae</span> Family of legume flowering plants

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.

<i>Erythrina</i> Genus of plants

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.

<i>Couroupita guianensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Couroupita guianensis, known by a variety of common names including cannonball tree, is a deciduous tree in the flowering plant family Lecythidaceae. It is native to the tropical forests of Central and South America, and it is cultivated in many other tropical areas throughout the world because of its fragrant flowers and large fruits, which are brownish grey. There are potential medicinal uses for many parts of Couroupita guianensis, and the tree has cultural and religious significance in South and Southeast Asia. In Sri Lanka and India, the cannonball tree has been widely misidentified as the Sal tree, after its introduction to the island by the British in 1881, and has been included as a common item in Buddhist temples as a result.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calyceraceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Calyceraceae is a plant family in the order Asterales. The natural distribution of the about sixty species belonging to this family is restricted to the southern half of South America. The species of the family resemble both the family Asteraceae and the Dipsacaceae.

<i>Cladrastis kentukea</i> Species of legume

Cladrastis kentukea, the Kentucky yellowwood or American yellowwood, is a species of Cladrastis native to the Southeastern United States, with a restricted range from western North Carolina west to eastern Oklahoma, and from southern Missouri and Indiana south to central Alabama. The tree is sometimes also called Virgilia.

Vanaspati is the Sanskrit word that now refers to the entire plant kingdom. However, according to Charaka Samhitā and Sushruta Samhita medical texts and the Vaisesikas school of philosophy, "vanaspati" is limited to plants that bear fruits but no evident flowers. In the Rigveda, 9th Mandala, Hymn 5.10, "Vanaspati" is a deity presiding over the forest and described as the "ever-green, the golden-hued, refulgent, with a thousand boughs."

<i>Erythrina vespertilio</i> Species of plant

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.

<i>Cercis siliquastrum</i> Species of tree

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring. It is native to Southern Europe and Western Asia.

<i>Weinmannia trichosperma</i> Species of plant

Weinmannia trichosperma, the tineo, is an evergreen tree in the family of Cunoniaceae, it is native to Chile and Argentina: 35 to 47°S. endemic to laurel forest habitat.

<i>Crataegus crus-galli</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus crus-galli is a species of hawthorn known by the common names cockspur hawthorn and cockspur thorn. It is native to eastern North America from Ontario to Texas to Florida, and it is widely used in horticulture. It is thought to be the parent, along with Crataegus succulenta, of the tetraploid species Crataegus persimilis.

<i>Erythrina caffra</i> Species of legume

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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erythrina × bidwillii</span> Hybrid legume

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.

Crista-galli or crista-gallii, hen crest in Latin, may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whorl (botany)</span> Arrangement of plant parts around the stem

In botany, a whorl or verticil is a whorled arrangement of leaves, sepals, petals, stamens, or carpels that radiate from a single point and surround or wrap around the stem or stalk. A leaf whorl consists of at least three elements; a pair of opposite leaves is not called a whorl.

Galli were priests of the Phrygian goddess Cybele.

<i>Sesbania punicea</i> Species of legume

Sesbania punicea is an ornamental shrub with reddish-orange flowers. It has deciduous leaves and grows to a height of 15 feet. This plant has a high demand for water, and thrives in swamps or wet areas. It requires a mildly acidic soil, with a pH between 6.1 and 6.5.

<i>Moullava spicata</i> Species of legume

Moullava spicata is an endemic species of creeper found in the Western Ghats of India.

<i>Crataegus persimilis</i> Species of hawthorn

Crataegus persimilis is a species of hawthorn, known by the common names plumleaf hawthorn and broad-leaved cockspur thorn, native to southern Ontario, Canada, and the US states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. It is widely cultivated, particularly in Europe, as an ornamental. Its sporadic distribution in its natural range and certain of its morphological characters leads authorities to consider it a probable naturally occurring hybrid, with its most likely parents being Crataegus succulenta and Crataegus crus-galli. It is a tetraploid. Some populations may be self-perpetuating. Its 'Prunifolia' cultivar has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, and is considered one of its top 5 trees for smaller gardens.

<i>Erythrina poeppigiana</i> Species of plant in the genus Erythrina

Erythrina poeppigiana, called the mountain immortelle, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Erythrina, native to northern and western South America, and introduced to various places in Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, India and tropical Asia. Its striking display of orange flowers has led to its use as an ornamental street tree. It is the emblematic state tree of Mérida, Venezuela. Widely cultivated, it is a nitrogen fixer and a source of fodder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floral morphology</span>

In botany, floral morphology is the study of the diversity of forms and structures presented by the flower, which, by definition, is a branch of limited growth that bears the modified leaves responsible for reproduction and protection of the gametes, called floral pieces.

References

This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia.
  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Erythrina crista-galli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T144285016A149059795. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  2. International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): Erythrina crista-galli. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  3. "Erythrina crista-galli (Cockspur Coral Tree)". Taranaki Educational Resource Research Analysis and Information Network. February 2015.
  4. "RHS Plantfinder - Erythrina crista-galli" . Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  5. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 37. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  6. Weber, Daniela; Gorzalczany, Susana; Martino, Virginia; Acevedo, Cristina; Sterner, Olov; Anke, Timm (1 June 2005). "Metabolites from Endophytes of the Medicinal Plant Erythrina crista-galli". Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C. 60: 467–477. doi:10.1515/znc-2005-5-616. ISSN   1865-7125 . Retrieved 27 March 2024.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Erythrina crista-galli at Wikimedia Commons