''Erythrina vespertilio'' is a tree native to north and north-east

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Its common names are grey corkwood, bat's wing coral tree, yulbah and the more ambiguous " bean tree". In the Western Desert language it is also known as ''ininti''.

Description

The small tree has a straggly habit and typically grows to a height of . The trunk has a diameter of approximately . It has thorns on the trunk and branches with bark that is deeply furrowed and corky and creamy-grey in colour. That leaves are bifoliolate or trifoliolate and are long. The leaflets have a broad wedge-shape with three lobes, resembling a bat's open wings. The leaflets are long and wide. The species is deciduous in the dry season. The tree blooms between August and September producing scarlet to orange-red pea flowers that are long are found on terminal racemes in length. The flowers have a

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

that is long and petals that are about long. There are usually ten

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. Flowering usually occurs when the tree is leafless. The seeds resemble beans and are orange to dark yellow in colour with a length of about found in pods that are long and wide.

Distribution

''E. vespertilio'' is found on all mainland states except Victoria, mainly in open woodlands but extends to arid areas and rainforest margins. It is found in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, Pilbara and northern Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia. throughout most of the Northern Territory and Queensland, northern South Australia and north eastern New South Wales. It found in an altitudinal range from near sea level to . It grows in a wide range of soils as long as drainage is good and it has a position in full sun.

Classification

The species was first formally described by the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

George Bentham in 1848 as part of Thomas Mitchell's work ''Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia''. There are two synonyms ''Corallodendron vespertilio'' and ''Erythrina biloba'', and the name of this species is often misapplied to ''Erythrina numerosa''. There are two known

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: * ''Erythrina vespertilio'' subsp. ''biloba''

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victo ...

& A.R.Bean * ''Erythrina vespertilio'' subsp. ''vespertilio''

Uses

It was widely traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians in

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

for making woomeras and coolamons. The

Warlpiri Warlpiri may refer to: * Warlpiri people, an indigenous people of the Tanami Desert, Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Au ...

, among others, would use the wood to make shields, used either for warfare or ceremonially. These shields could then be used for making fire with the friction method. The bark is also considered to have traditional medicinal uses. The fruit contains alkaloids and the stem contains isoflavonoids. Phaseollidin (a

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

) showed cytotoxic activities '' in vitro'' against prostate cancer cell lines at high doses.Iranshahi M., Vu H., Pham N., Zencak D., Forster P., Quinn R.J.,"Cytotoxic evaluation of alkaloids and isoflavonoids from the Australian tree erythrina vespertilio". ''Planta Medica''. 78 (7) (pp 730-736), 2012. The seeds are used to make decorations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5396436 vespertilio Flora of Queensland Flora of the Northern Territory Rosids of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of New South Wales Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Fabales of Australia Bush medicine Medicinal plants of Australia Trees of Australia Drought-tolerant trees Plants described in 1848