Coral-bean

Erythrina fusca, the coral bean or bucaré, is a medium-sized deciduous tree of the legume family reaching about 10-25 metres tall, and is unusual among coral trees for its pantropical distribution along tropical coasts and riverbanks of the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The trunk and branches bear scattered, stout prickles and a corky, fissured bark. The leaves are trifoliate with broad, ovate to rhombic leaflets. Showy flowers are produced in dense racemes and are typically dull orange to deep pink or salmon-coloured, with a large curved standard petal, giving rise to the common name coral tree. The fruit is an elongated, constricted woody pod that splits to release several hard, dark reddish-brown seeds. The species thrives in seasonally flooded ground, swamp forest, riverbanks and brackish coastal sites, and is planted as a shade tree and living fence. All parts contain Erythrina alkaloids, which are toxic and have curare-like neuromuscular activity.