''Erythrina variegata'', commonly known as tiger's claw or Indian coral tree, is a species of ''

Erythrina ''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. These species ...

'' native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Africa, the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, northern Australia, and the islands of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean east to

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Description

''E. variegata'' is a thorny

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

growing to tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are pinnate with a petiole and three leaflets, each leaflet up to long and broad. It has dense clusters of scarlet or crimson

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s and black

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s. Notably, crows have been observed contributing to the pollination of the Indian coral tree by feeding on its nectar-rich flowers.

Uses

''Erythrina variegata'' is valued as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

. Several

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been selected, including 'Alba' with white flowers. In Vietnam, the leaves are used to wrap

fermented meat Fermented meat is an important preservation process which has evolved for meat but is rarely used alone. A particularly common form of fermented meat product is the sausage, with notable examples including chorizo, salami, sucuk, pepperoni, ne ...

(). ''E. variegata'' is known as ''dapdap'' in many languages of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

where its bark and leaves are used in alternative medicine. ''E. variegata'' is often used in agroforestry systems. It can be used for fodder as its foliage has a good nutritive value for most livestock. The seeds are poisonous in their raw state but can be cooked and eaten. Along with the bark, the seeds were used to stupefy fish, making them easier to catch. The Formosan aboriginal Puyuma tribe carve a mortar called a taur from the trunk of the tree. It is used for pounding sticky rice that is later to be steamed.

Cultural impact

''E. variegata'' was designated the official flower of

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

in 1967. The ''deigo'' flower features in the popular song " Shima Uta" by The Boom, one of the most well-known songs associated with Okinawa. In addition, the use of the wood of the ''deigo'' tree is one of the unique characteristics of Ryukyuan lacquerware. In Sri Lanka, the blossoming flowers of the tree are associated with the advent of the Sri Lankan (April) New Year. This plant is known as ''Erabadu'' ( Sinhala: එරබදු) in Sinhalese. In

—known as ''drala'', ''drara'' or ''rara''— its flowering season marks the traditional time to plant

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

. In Mangaia, it marks the arrival of kingfishers and the nesting of black-winged petrels.

Role in ecosystem

Fiji crested iguanas can be found within ''Erythrina variegata'' ("''rara''") trees.

Gallery

File:Erythrina variegata Blanco1.217.png, Botanical illustration File:Erythrina variegata flower.jpg, Flower File:Erythrina variegata kz01.jpg, Seed pods File:Erythrina variegata (Indian coral tree) seeds, Tamuning, Guam.jpg, Seeds. Hilton Resort, Guam File:Erythrina variegata seedling. Dededo, Guam.jpg, Seedling. Dededo, Guam File:Coral Tree Monsoon Mallalli Falls Hassan Jun24 A7CR 01575.jpg, Tree at Mallalli Falls, Hassan, Karnataka File:Erythrina variegata mature tree. Hilton Resort, Dededo, Guam.jpg, Mature tree. Hilton Resort, Tumon, Guam

References

External links

* *
Flowers of India - Indian Coral Tree
{{Taxonbar, from=Q715744 variegata Flora of Tanzania Flora of the Western Indian Ocean Flora of the Indian subcontinent Flora of China Flora of the Ryukyu Islands Flora of Taiwan Flora of Australia Flora of the Southwestern Pacific Flora of the south-central Pacific Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees in Buddhism Austronesian agriculture