Erythrina herbacea Linnaeus. Common name: Coral Bean, Cardinal-spear, Colorín, Mamou, Red Cardinal, Cherokee Bean. Phenology: May-Jul; Jul-Sep. Habitat: Maritime forests, dry sandy woodlands, hammocks, longleaf pine sandhills, sandy coastal scrub (TX). Distribution: Se. NC south to FL, west to se. and s. TX (Cameron County).
ID notes: The stems with inflorescences are typically borne separately from vegetative stems, often developing before or with leaf-out.
Origin/Endemic status: Endemic
Taxonomy Comments: Populations in e. Mexico (TAM, SLP) previously ascribed to this species have been described as a separate species, E. sierra Nesom (Nesom 2016e).
Synonymy ⓘ: = FNA11.1, K4, POWO, Nesom (2016e); > Erythrina arborea (Chapm.) Small — S, S13; < Erythrina herbacea L. — Ar, Fl3, NcTx, NS, RAB, SE3, Tx, WH3, Isely (1998); >< Erythrina herbacea L. — S, S13; Erythrina herbacea L. Basionym: Erythrina herbacea L. 1753
Links to other floras: = Erythrina herbacea - FNA11.1
Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)
Heliophily ⓘ: 7
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.
© Jay Horn source | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Sonnia Hill | Original Image ⭷
© Joe MDO, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joe MDO source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Matt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Matt source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Aidan Campos source | Original Image ⭷
© Sonnia Hill | Original Image ⭷
© Sonnia Hill | Original Image ⭷
© Sonnia Hill | Original Image ⭷Feedback
See something missing or incorrect about Erythrina herbacea? Let us know here:
- Please include your name and if possible, email in case when need to clarify what you wrote.
- If you opt out of including email, please be as specific as possible (e.g., which photo is incorrect?)
- Please do not submit questions asking to identify plants or about horticultural topics (e.g., how do I control an invasive plant in my garden?). Instead, those questions can be submitted here for the Carolinas region only.
- Please do not send us feedback about unkeyed species as this work is ongoing.
- Please allow time for flora edits to show in our next data release. We greatly appreciate your feedback but may require extra time to research complicated taxonomic issues.
Horticultural Information
Intro: Shrublike herbaceous perennial found in maritime forests, dry sandy woodlands and sandhills in the outer Coastal Plain
Stems: Stems multiple, arising from a bulbous, woody base; thorny.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, long-petioled, divided into 3 triangular leaflets, each leaflet to 4 in. long and 3-lobed; there are curved prickles beneath and on petiole.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Flowers in a 12-in.-long spike at the top of a leafless stalk, blooming from the bottom upward; red; 1 1/2-2 1/2 in. long; tubular and curved upward.
Fruits: Fruit an elongated pod constricted between the scarlet seeds inside.
Comments: All parts of the plant, especially seeds, are toxic.
Height: to 5 ft.
plant sale text:
bloom table text:
description: Shrublike herbaceous perennial found in maritime forests, dry sandy woodlands and sandhills in the outer Coastal Plain
stems: Stems multiple, arising from a bulbous, woody base; thorny.
leaves: Leaves alternate, long-petioled, divided into 3 triangular leaflets, each leaflet to 4 in. long and 3-lobed; there are curved prickles beneath and on petiole.
inflorescence:
flowers: Flowers in a 12-in.-long spike at the top of a leafless stalk, blooming from the bottom upward; red; 1 1/2-2 1/2 in. long; tubular and curved upward.
fruits: Fruit an elongated pod constricted between the scarlet seeds inside.
comments: All parts of the plant, especially seeds, are toxic.
cultural notes:
germination code:
native range: southeastern U.S. to Central America
0 unsaved edits on this page.