Erythrina corallodendrum L., Fabaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 6 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Erythrina corallodendron L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: coraltree

French: erythrine

Habit:  shrub/tree

Description:  "Tree to 8 m or shrub. Petioles slender, 6-15 cm long, leaflets rhombic-ovate to rhombic-orbicular or broader than long, 5-15 cm long, 4-12 cm wide, apex acute or acuminate, base rounded or obtuse.  Inflorescence of racemes 10-30 cm long, pedicels short, 3-5 mm long; calyx campanulate, 7-12 mm long, truncate; corolla coral red, 5-6 cm long, standard narrowly oblong or oblong-oblanceolate; wings scarcely exceeding the calyx, keel petals distinct, also shorter than calyx.  Legume moniliform, slightly flattened, 10-15 cm long, stipe 1.5-2 cm long, beak to 2 cm long; seeds 3-9, scarlet" (Howard, 1988; p. 488).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Haiti and Jamaica, cultivated elsewhere (Howard, 1988; p. 488).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 145) Ornamental.
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/subspontané"
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Erythrina corallodendrum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Erythrina corallodendrum as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Erythrina corallodendrum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Howard, Richard A. 1988. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 4, Dicotyledoneae-Part 1. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 673 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).