Erythrina crista-galli
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Redirect|Seibo|the place|El Seibo Province|and|El Seibo, Dominican Republic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Erythrina crista-galli flowers 7th Brigade Park Chermside P1190186.jpg
| image_caption = Flowers
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status2 = G4
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref =
| genus = Erythrina
| species = crista-galli
| authority = L.
| synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}}
- Corallodendron crista-galli (L.) Kuntze
- Erythrina crista-galli L. var. hasskarlii Backer
- Erythrina crista-galli L. var. leucochlora Lombardo
- Erythrina fasciculata Benth.
- Erythrina laurifolia Jacq.
- Erythrina pulcherrima Tod.
- Erythrina speciosa Tod. (However, E. speciosa Andrews is a distinct species.)
- Micropteryx crista-galli Walp.
- Micropteryx fasciculata Walp.
- Micropteryx laurifolia Walp.
{{hidden end}}
}}
Erythrina crista-galli, also known as the cockspur coral tree, ceibo (in Spanish) or corticeira (in Portuguese), is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, southern Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, notably in California. Its specific epithet crista-galli means "cock's comb" in Latin.
It is the national tree of Argentina, and its flower the national flower of Argentina and Uruguay.
Description
File:Erythrina crista-galli flowers, 7th Brigade Park, Chermside IMGP6687.jpg, Australia]]
Erythrina crista-galli is a small tree, the girth of its trunk measuring {{convert|50|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Normally it grows {{convert|5|-|8|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, although some individuals, such as in the Argentine provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán, can grow up to {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The woody trunk of the tree is equipped with irregular and thorny branches and can reach 50 cm in circumference.
The root is a taproot with nodules produced by nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The bacteria live in symbiosis with the tree, facilitating the tree's absorption of nitrogen in return for organic substances which the bacteria need. The tree's trunk is woody with irregular, spiny branches. These branches form a layer without definite form{{Cite web|url=http://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/tree-exotic-botanical-names-a-to-f/cockspur-coral-tree-erythrina-crista-galli.html|title=Erythrina crista-galli (Cockspur Coral Tree)|date=February 2015|website=Taranaki Educational Resource Research Analysis and Information Network}} and die after flowering.
=Flowers and fruit=
File:Erythrina crista-galli OB UJ Krakow 2017-09-28 5744.jpg
File:Erythrina crista-galli 2-3.jpg, Argentina]]
The red flower, arranged in inflorescences of the raceme type, is pentameric, complete, and of bilateral symmetry. Its calyx is gamosepalous, like a little red thimble. The corolla, like that of other legumes like common beans, is butterfly-shaped; however, the largest petal, called the "standard", is arranged in the lower part. The two of the petals called "wings" are so small that they are practically hidden within the calyx. The remaining two petals partially fuse together on occasion and form the flower's keel or "carina"; this protects its reproductive organs. The androecium consists of ten stamens, one free and nine united by their filaments (gynostemial androecium). The unicarpel gynoecium is welded between the stamens like a knife in its sheath.
The tree flowers in the summer, from October to April in their native South America and from April to October in the northern hemisphere.
The flowers are rich in nectar and are visited by insects, which usually have to crawl underneath the carina and thus pollinate the flowers.
File:Erythrina crista-galli MHNT.BOT.2007.52.19.jpg
The tree's fruit is a legume, a dry pod a few centimeters in length derived from a single carpel and contains about 8–10 chestnut-brown bean-shaped seeds. The cotyledons are hypogeal, staying underground upon germination.
Cultivation
In cultivation in the United Kingdom this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/32582/i-Erythrina-crista-galli-i/Details
| title = RHS Plantfinder – Erythrina crista-galli
| access-date=16 February 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants – Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 37 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 16 February 2018}} In urban settings, it is often planted in parks for its bright red flowers.
Distribution
It is distributed throughout northeastern and central western Argentina, eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil, much of Paraguay, and almost all of Uruguay. It lives in low, flood-prone places, and along the watercourses of the Chaco and the Eastern Region. It does not inhabit high forests or dry places without floods, as it tolerates water-saturated soils very well.
This species characteristically grows wild in gallery forest ecosystems along watercourses, as well as in swamps and wetlands.
Uses
It has dyeing and medicinal applications: its bark is used to treat rheumatism wounds and serves as a diuretic antispasmodic; its resin can cure intestinal diseases; Its leaves contain camphor, that helps wound healing and has anti-inflammatory properties for tumors.{{Cite journal|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/znc-2005-5-616|title=Metabolites from Endophytes of the Medicinal Plant Erythrina crista-galli|last1=Weber|first1=Daniela|last2=Gorzalczany|first2=Susana|date=1 June 2005|journal=Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C|volume=60|pages=467–477|access-date=27 March 2024|issn=1865-7125|doi=10.1515/znc-2005-5-616|last3=Martino|first3=Virginia|last4=Acevedo|first4=Cristina|last5=Sterner|first5=Olov|last6=Anke|first6=Timm|issue=5–6 |pmid=16042349 }}
References
:This article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia.
{{Reflist}}
- {{aut|Pink, Alfred}} (1904): Gardening for the Million. Fisher Unwin, London. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11892 TXT and HTML fulltexts] at Project Gutenberg.
External links
{{Commons category-inline}}
- {{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20050907033631/http://www.medioambiente.gov.ar/calendario/dia_ceibo/default.htm Día de la Flor Nacional] (National Flower Day) – from Argentina's Ministry of Health and Environment website (scientific description, pictures).
{{National emblems of Argentina}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q162849}}
Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Category:National symbols of Argentina
Category:National symbols of Uruguay