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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Coral bean
| image = CoralBeanFlower.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Flower of the Coral Bean
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
| familia = [[Fabaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Faboideae]]
| tribus = [[Phaseoleae]]
| genus = ''[[Erythrina]]''
| species = '''''E. herbacea'''''
| binomial = ''Erythrina herbacea''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''Coral bean''' (''Erythrina herbacea'') also known as the Cherokee bean, Red cardinal or Cardinal spear, is a flowering tree found throughout the [[Southeastern United States|south-eastern United States]] and north-eastern [[Mexico]]; it has also been reported from parts of [[Central America]] and, as an [[introduced species]], from [[Pakistan]].
The coral bean grows as a low [[shrub]] or small [[tree]], reaching around 5 meters in height in areas that do not kill it back by freezing. Its [[leaf|leaves]] are yellowish-green, around 20 cm long and are divided into 8 cm leaflets, shaped like arrowheads. Its bark is smooth and yellowish. The [[flower]]s are bright red, and grow in long clusters, each flower being around 5 cm long; the tree blooms from February to June. They are followed by pods containing bright red seeds (from which the tree gets its name), which are poisonous enough to have been used in the past as a [[rat]] poison.
The coral bean grows in pinelands, [[hammock]]s, and [[Ruderal species|disturbed areas]]. Within its natural range it can readily be grown in gardens. Although its use in gardens is not particularly common, it is popular among those who do grow it as a source of early season color, for its hardiness, and because it attracts [[hummingbird]]s.
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] people had many medicinal uses for this plant, varying between nations and localities. [[Creek (people)|Creek]] women used an infusion of the root for [[bowel]] pain in women; the [[Choctaw]] used a decoction of the leaves as a general tonic; the [[Seminole]] used an extract of the roots for digestive problems, and extracts of the seeds, or of the inner bark, as an external rub for [[rheumatism|rheumatic]] disorders.
Various other systematic names have been used for this plant in the past, including ''Erythrina arborea'', ''Erythrina hederifolia'', ''Erythrina humilis'', ''Erythrina rubicunda'', ''Corallodendron herbaceum'' and ''Xyphanthus hederifolius''.
==References==
*[http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=3264 Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants: ''Erythrina herbacea'']
*[http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?15748 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Erythrina herbacea'']
*[http://plantsdatabase.com/go/2724/index.html Plants data base entry: ''Erythrina herbacea'']
*Alden, P., et al. (1988). ''National Audubon Society field guide to Florida''. New York: Knopf.
[[Category:Faboideae]]
[[Category:Trees of Southeastern United States]]
[[Category:Trees of Northeast Mexico]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Coral bean
| image = CoralBeanFlower.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Flower of the Coral Bean
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
| familia = [[Fabaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Faboideae]]
| tribus = [[Phaseoleae]]
| genus = ''[[Erythrina]]''
| species = '''''E. herbacea'''''
| binomial = ''Erythrina herbacea''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''Coral bean''' (''Erythrina herbacea'') also known as the Cherokee bean, Red cardinal or Cardinal spear, is a flowering tree found throughout the [[Southeastern United States|south-eastern United States]] and north-eastern [[Mexico]]; it has also been reported from parts of [[Central America]] and, as an [[introduced species]], from [[Pakistan]].
The coral bean grows as a low [[shrub]] or small [[tree]], reaching around 5 meters in height in areas that do not kill it back by freezing. Its [[leaf|leaves]] are yellowish-green, around 20 cm long and are divided into 8 cm leaflets, shaped like arrowheads. Its bark is smooth and yellowish. The [[flower]]s are bright red, and grow in long clusters, each flower being around 5 cm long; the tree blooms from February to June. They are followed by pods containing bright red seeds (from which the tree gets its name), which are poisonous enough to have been used in the past as a [[rat]] poison.
The coral bean grows in pinelands, [[hammock]]s, and [[Ruderal species|disturbed areas]]. Within its natural range it can readily be grown in gardens. Although its use in gardens is not particularly common, it is popular among those who do grow it as a source of early season color, for its hardiness, and because it attracts [[hummingbird]]s.
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] people had many medicinal uses for this plant, varying between nations and localities. [[Creek (people)|Creek]] women used an infusion of the root for [[bowel]] pain in women; the [[Choctaw]] used a decoction of the leaves as a general tonic; the [[Seminole]] used an extract of the roots for digestive problems, and extracts of the seeds, or of the inner bark, as an external rub for [[rheumatism|rheumatic]] disorders.
Various other systematic names have been used for this plant in the past, including ''Erythrina arborea'', ''Erythrina hederifolia'', ''Erythrina humilis'', ''Erythrina rubicunda'', ''Corallodendron herbaceum'' and ''Xyphanthus hederifolius''.
==References==
*[http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=3264 Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants: ''Erythrina herbacea'']
*[http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?15748 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Erythrina herbacea'']
*[http://plantsdatabase.com/go/2724/index.html Plants data base entry: ''Erythrina herbacea'']
*Alden, P., et al. (1988). ''National Audubon Society field guide to Florida''. New York: Knopf.
[[Category:Faboideae]]
[[Category:Trees of Southeastern United States]]
[[Category:Trees of Northeast Mexico]]