Erythrina crista-galli       786

This is an evergreen tree 4-8m high, trunk and branches without prickles, terminal branchlets without prickles. The bark is corky, deeply furrowed, grey to brown. The indumentum is comprising minute simple hairs, confined to apical section of branchlets, developing leaves, ovaries and young fruits. The leaves are uniformly green, minutely reticulately waxy below. The petioles are frequently bearing 1 or 2 recurved prickles, terete, 60-140mm long. The petiolule of basal leaflets is 8-13mm long. The terminal leaflet is 58-130mm long, 25-77mm wide, apex acute, base cuneate, lateral lobes absent. The basal leaflets are identical to, or slightly smaller than the terminal one. The leaflet venation is penninerved, without a basal pair of lateral veins.

The inflorescences are in leaf axils or at the end of leafy branchlets, 12-80-flowered, 10-40cm long, rachis and peduncle not distinguishable. The fascicles are 2-3-flowered, one or sometimes two fascicles at any position along branchlet, each fascicle 2-32mm apart on branchlet, pedicels 13-25mm long at anthesis. The calyx is broadly campanulate in bud, 9-13mm long, truncate with two small deciduous teeth, not splitting longitudinally as corolla expands. The petals are prominently veined. The standard is pink, red or crimson on inner surface, pink on outer surface, broadly-elliptic, 40-55 x 34-46mm, apex obtuse or emarginate, strongly recurved and exposing staminal column, wings and keel very dissimilar, wings white, 9-19mm long, wholly or largely obscured by calyx, obtuse. The keel petals are pink, red or crimson, 30-45mm long, fused, incurved, enclosing much of staminal column, acute. The stamens are 33-55mm long. The anthers are 1.9-2.7mm long, yellow. The ovary is hairy, 16-21 ovules.

The pods are glabrous at maturity, 14-27cm long, 1.3-1.6cm wide at widest point, somewhat narrowed between the seeds, outer surface smooth, pods dehiscent and slightly curved when mature with seeds easily visible. There are 2-6 seeds, ellipsoidal, 12-16mm long, not uniform in color, black with brown streaks, with a pale hilum.

- A taxonomic revision of Erythrina L.(Fabaceae: Faboideae) in Australia, Bean, AR. Austrobaileya 2008 pag. 641-658. JStor
- Erythrinas cultivated in California, McClintock, E. Allertonia 1982. JStor
- Erythrineae (Fabaceae) in southern Africa, Hennessy, EF Franklin. Bothalia 1991 Vol. 21(1) pag. 1-25. Address
- Ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, therapeutic and pharmacological review of the genus Erythrina, Kaushal, Aparna and Sharma, Munit and Navneet, Munish Sharma. Int. J. Bot. Stud 2020 Vol. 5 pag. 642-648. ResearchGate

- A taxonomic revision of Erythrina L.(Fabaceae: Faboideae) in Australia, Bean, AR. Austrobaileya 2008 pag. 641-658. JStor
- Caracterización Morfológica de Semillas de Plantas Leñosas de un Ecosistema Amenazado: Los Bosques Estacionalmente Secos del Valle del Marañon Jáen, Perú, José Luis Marcelo Peña, Anny Yosmeli Rufasto Garcia & Elio Samajen Juwag. 2021. Address
- Erythrina Symposium IV. Erythrina (Fabaceae: Faboideae), Rupert C. Barneby, B. A. Krukoff, and Peter H. Raven. 1982. Address
- Erythrineae (Fabaceae) in southern Africa, Hennessy, EF Franklin. Bothalia 1991 Vol. 21(1) pag. 1-25. Address
- Field studies of six southern African species of Erythrina, Guillarmod, A Jacot and Jubb, RA and Skead, CJ. Annals of the Missouri Botanical garden 1979 pag. 521-527. JStor
- Notes on Certain South African Erythrina Species., Codd, LE. Bothalia 1956 Vol. 6(3) pag. 507-514. Address
- Notes on the species of Erythrina. XII, B. A. Krukoff. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 1979 Vol. 66(3) pag. 422-445. JStor
- The South African species of Erythrina, Collett, DG. Bothalia 1941 Vol. 4(1) pag. 219-228. Address
- Alkaloids of genus Erythrina: An updated review, Fahmy, Nouran M and Al-Sayed, Eman and El-Shazly, Mohamed and Nasser Singab, Abdel. Natural product research 2020 Vol. 34(13) pag. 1891-1912. Address
- Ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, therapeutic and pharmacological review of the genus Erythrina, Kaushal, Aparna and Sharma, Munit and Navneet, Munish Sharma. Int. J. Bot. Stud 2020 Vol. 5 pag. 642-648. ResearchGate
- Erythrina in Southern Africa, Hennessy, EF. Veld & Flora 1975 Vol. 61(3) pag. 20-23. Address
- Erythrinas cultivated in California, McClintock, E. Allertonia 1982. JStor
- Hommes et Plantes. Vol. 105 pag. 11-15. Address
- PlantÆxoticA. 2015 Vol. 49 pag. 4-27. Address

Biological type: tree
Frost resistance: 14ºF
Leaf color: dark green
Flower color: red
IUCN Red List of threatened species status: Least Concern

Specifications for the Mediterranean basin
Adult size (h x w): 13,1ft x 13,1ft
Sun exposure: full sun (Sun hours: >6h
Foliage: deciduous
Growth: fast
Flowering time from May until August
Ripe fruits in May

Specific information for our garden
Planting substrate: 30%Compost+30%Coco+40%Sand
Plant watering: 3x a week pH 6.5
Logical sequence of containers for: Eucalyptus; forestry plate, forestry pot 3L, Airpot 12L, Airpot 50L, Airpot 800L
Propagation is done by cuttings
Units in the garden: 1x

SPRING Scarify the seed coating. Soak the seeds in warm water of 86°F for 24-48h (Change the water every 12 hours) until the seeds swell. Sow the seeds at 10mm depth in the Well Drained Seed Sowing Mix between 68-77°F. During germination keep the substrate moist and in daylight. The seeds germinate in 2-4 weeks.
The average seed weight is 2,7 per gram (0,3728g).

Germination references
- Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and, Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, Baskin, Carol and Baskin, J.M. 2014 pag. 1-1586. DOI
- Supplementary Notes on the American Species of Erythrina. I., Krukoff, BA. American Journal of Botany 1941 Vol. 28(8) pag. 683-691. JStor

Germination references for the genus
- Supplementary Notes on the American Species of Erythrina. I., Krukoff, BA. American Journal of Botany 1941 Vol. 28(8) pag. 683-691. JStor
- Supplementary Notes on the American Species of Erythrina-II, Krukoff, BA. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 1943 pag. 633-637. JStor