Erythrina fusca
| Erythrina fusca | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Erythrina fusca Lour. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Erythrina glauca Erythrina caffra |
The legume tree Erythrina fusca is known by many common names including coral bean, purple coraltree, gallito, bois immortelle, bucayo, and bucare. It has the widest distribution of any Erythrina species; it is the only one found in both the New and Old Worlds. It grows throughout tropical Asia and the Pacific, Central America, and into the Amazon Basin.
It is a deciduous tree with spiny bark and light orange flowers. Its legume pods reach 20 centimeters in length and contain dark brown seeds. Its legume pods can disperse across oceans and the tree can grow in a wide range of habitats, two reasons for its current broad distribution.
Like many other species in genus Erythrina, E. fusca contains toxic alkaloids which have been utilized for medicinal value but are poisonous in larger amounts. The most common alkaloid is erythraline, which is named for the genus. The new buds and leaves are eaten as a vegetable. The easy-to-grow and attractive flowering tree is cultivated as an ornamental shade and hedge plant. It is a common shade tree in cacao plantations. It attracts hummingbirds, which help to pollinate its flowers.
It is the official flower of the Venezuelan state of Trujillo.
