''Erythrina abyssinica'' (lucky bean or flame tree) is a tree

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of the genus '' Erythrina'' belonging to the plant family of the Fabaceae (or Leguminosae) described by

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candoll ...

in 1825. This

leguminous A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock for ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

species is native to East Africa , Eastern

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and southern Africa. In Zimbabwe its range overlaps with the similar '' Erythrina latissima''.

History

Close-up of inflorescence The description of ''E. abyssinica'' has been complicated, because the first specimen of ''Erythrina'' from Ethiopia (Abyssinia) brought to Europe was actually a mix of the two species. The flowers and leaves belonged to ''E. brucei'' Schweinfurth (1868) and the pod and seeds to ''E. abyssinica'' Lam. ex DC (1825). In addition, the first three descriptions were invalid, i.e. not published correctly to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (syn. ''E. kuara''

James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia and in 1770 became the first Eur ...

(1790), ''E. abyssinica'' Lam.Lamarck, J.B. (1786)

Encyclopédie Méthodique The ''Encyclopédie méthodique par ordre des matières'' ("Methodical Encyclopedia by Order of Subject Matter") was published between 1782 and 1832 by the French publisher Charles Joseph Panckoucke, his son-in-law Henri Agasse, and the latter's ...

(Lamarck) 2(1): 392. (1786) and ''E. tomentosa'' Robert Brown (1814)). Furthermore, the species is variable with individuals with glabrous and hairy (tomentose) leaves which were described separately and after revision resulted in additional synonyms (syn. ''E. tomentosa'' R. Brown ex A.Rich. (1847)). The number of synonyms increased when a new genus was described from South Africa (Chirocalyx

Meisn. Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 ...

), which later was considered synonymous with ''Erythrina'' (''Ch. tomentosa''

Hochstetter The family of Höchstetter (also rendered Hechstetter or Hochstetter), from Höchstädt in western Bavaria near the banks of the Danube, were members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg. For a time, these i ...

and ''Ch. abyssinica''

). Finally, ''E. abyssinica'' was considered for some time the juvenile stage of ''E. brucei'' and hence synonymous with the latter species. The issue was settled in 1962 when the pods and seeds from ''E. brucei'' were collected which were different from those of ''E. abyssinica''. Consecutively, the seeds planted revealed that seedlings and saplings of ''E. brucei'' did not resemble those of ''E. abyssinica''.

Description

The flowers attract

sunbirds Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly ...

. After it has finished flowering, it produces a seed capsule, which is long and cylindrical, and wood-like. It can be up to 30 cm long and contains bright red and black seeds.

Uses

The seeds are used as fish poison and decoratively in necklaces. The soft wood of the trunk has been used to carve small statues and animals. The wood is also used for making beehives and African drums or Tam Tam.

References

External links

* abyssinica Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck {{Phaseoleae-stub