''Erythrina velutina'' is a
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
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 ...
. It is indigenous to Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Hispaniola and has been introduced to much of the Caribbean, Uganda, and Sri Lanka. It also occurs on the Galápagos Islands, but whether it is indigenous or introduced there is unclear.
[LegumeWeb, 2010] In Brazil, it occurs on plains and near rivers in the arid parts of the northeast of the country
[Rabelo et al., 2001, p. 543] and is commonly known as "mulungu".
[Dantas et al., 2004, p. 129] ''Erythrina velutina'' grows as a large tree to around 10 m (30 ft) high and has short spines on the stem.
[Fawcett and Rendle, 1920, p. 51] It is perennial.
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Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1801 by Carl Ludwig Willdenow
Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was al ...
. Henry Nicholas Ridley
Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG (1911), MA (Oxon), FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. (10 December 1855 – 24 October 1956) was an English botanist, geologist and naturalist who lived much of his life in Singapore. He was instrumental in promoting rubber trees i ...
described ''Erythrina aurantiaca'' as a species from Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha () is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and located off the Brazilian coast. It consists of 21 islands and islets, extending over an area of . Only the eponymous main island is in ...
off the northeastern coast of Brazil, but this tree is now seen as only a form of ''E. velutina'', ''Erythrina velutina'' f. ''aurantiaca''.[Krukoff, 1979, p. 443]
Blooming
On Fernando de Noronha, it flowers in the dry season.[ There are 10 to 26 flowers per ]inflorescence
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 ...
, of which one to eight open each day. Flowers open early in the morning, between 6 and 6:30 am.[Sazima et al., 2009, p. 27] They remain open for two days, but produce nectar only the first day. All native land vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...
s of the island, including the Noronha dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
(''Zenaida auriculata noronha''), vireo
The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migrato ...
(''Vireo gracilirostris''), elaenia (''Elaenia ridleyana''), and skink (''Trachylepis atlantica''), pollinate
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...
the species on Fernando de Noronha.[Sazima et al., 2009, p. 26] No other ''Erythrina'' species is pollinated by doves or lizards.[Sazima et al., 2009, p. 29]
Uses
In northeastern Brazil, the bark of ''E. velutina'' is used in traditional medicine against insomnia, convulsions, nervous coughs, and nervous excitation. Harvesting of bark for medicinal purposes poses a threat to the survival of the species; for this reason, several scientific studies of the medicinal effects of tree have used extract from the leaves instead.[Carvalho et al., 2009, p. 374] In laboratory mice and rats, ''E. velutina'' extract prolongs sleep, inhibits motorial activity, and inhibits memory.[Dantas et al., 2004, p. 132]
Erythrina velutina contains the indole based alkaloid Hypaphorine which has shown sleep promoting effects in mice
Toxicity
Its seeds are similar to beans, but are red and toxic. The seeds should not be ingested by the risk of death.
Gallery
File:Erythrina velutina flower.jpg, Flower
File:Hummingbird on Erythrina velutina (9606870789).jpg, Hummingbird on flower
File:Brotogeris chiriri on Erythrina velutina (9606886301).jpg, Yellow-chevroned parakeet
The yellow-chevroned parakeet (''Brotogeris chiriri'') is native to tropical South America south of the Amazon River basin from central Brazil to southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. Caged birds have been released in some areas, a ...
eating flower
File:Flickr - João de Deus Medeiros - Erythrina velutina.jpg, Trunk detail
File:Erythrina mulungu seed.jpeg, Seed
References
Literature cited
*2010
''Erythrina velutina''
LegumeWeb, International Legume Database & Information Service, version 10.01. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q2711241
velutina
Flora of South America