Description

''Erythrina senegalensis'' grows as a tree up to tall, rarely to . The bark is fissured. The leaves are composed of three leaflets which measure up to long, on a thorny stalk.

Inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

have many flowers with bright red petals. The seeds are poisonous.

Distribution and habitat

''Erythrina senegalensis'' is native to West Africa, across the region from Mauritania to Chad and Cameroon. Its habitat is in wooded

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

or savanna.

Uses

''Erythrina senegalensis'' is locally used in traditional medicine. The wood is locally used to make knife handles and the seeds to make necklaces. The species is cultivated as an ornamental and also used in hedges.

References

senegalensis Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of Chad Flora of Cameroon Plants described in 1825 Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle {{Phaseoleae-stub