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

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the genus ''

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 ...

'' belonging to the plant family of the

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

(or Leguminosae) described by

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

in 1825. This

leguminous Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

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 ...

species is native to

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, Eastern

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

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 The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN or ICNafp) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all tho ...

(syn. ''E. kuara''

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

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

Encyclopédie Méthodique The ''Encyclopédie méthodique par ordre des matières'' () was published between 1782 and 1832 by the France, French publisher Charles Joseph Panckoucke, his son-in-law Henri Agasse, and the latter's wife, Thérèse-Charlotte Agasse. Arranged by ...

(Lamarck) 2(1): 392. (1786) and ''E. tomentosa''

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

(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.), which later was considered synonymous with ''Erythrina'' (''Ch. tomentosa'' Hochstetter and ''Ch. abyssinica'' Hochstetter). 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 (biology), 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 feathe ...

. 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