Erythrina corallodendron, Erythrina corallodendrum,
Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree,
Hebrew: אלמוגן רחב-עלים, Arabic: مرجان عريض الاوراق

Scientific name:  Erythrina corallodendron L.
Synonym name:  Erythrina corallodendrum L.
Common name:  Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree
Hebrew name:  אלמוגן רחב-עלים
Arabic/الاسم العربي:  مرجان عريض الاوراق
Español:  Erythrina corallodendron
中文-Chinese:  龍牙花
Family:   Fabaceae / Papilionaceae, פרפרניים

Erythrina corallodendron, Erythrina corallodendrum, Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree, אלמוגן רחב-עלים

Life form:  Small tree or shrub
Stems:  8-10m high; twigs, moderately stout, light brown, strong, conspicuous hooked prickles (resemble a cat claw), lighter raised lenticels; buds small sitting above shallow U-shaped leaf scar; bark, smooth light brown, developing shallow fissures with darker brown ridges giving the bark a striped pattern
Leaves:  Alternate, tri-foliate compound, 12 to 20 cm long, each leaflet nearly heart-shaped (5 to 8 cm long and wide), margins entire, petiole has hooked prickles, green above and below.
Inflorescence:  In long, dense, terminal clusters up to 25cm
Flowers:  Attractive, deep red, each flower is tubular, 2.5-5cm long, appearing in late spring and continuing to the fall.
Fruits / pods:  Sterile hybrid so no fruit is generally formed. Other members of the genus produce a long, leathery twisted, contorted pod.
Flowering Period:  March
Chorotype:  South America
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Flowers of Israel - Erythrina corallodendron, Erythrina corallodendrum, Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree, אלמוגן רחב-עלים


Derivation of the botanical name:
Erythrina, Coral tree, Greek erythros, red, an allusion to the color of the flower.
corallodendron, Greek, corallion, coral; dendron, tree; specific name of the coral-tree.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
This species is native to Central America and the Caribbean.

Flowers of Israel - Erythrina corallodendron, Erythrina corallodendrum, Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree, אלמוגן רחב-עלים


Flowers of Israel - Erythrina corallodendron, Erythrina corallodendrum, Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree, אלמוגן רחב-עלים


Flowers of Israel - Erythrina corallodendron, Erythrina corallodendrum, Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree, אלמוגן רחב-עלים


Erythrina corallodendron, Erythrina corallodendrum, Coral Bean Tree, Coral tree, West Indian Coral Tree, אלמוגן רחב-עלים