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Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Erythrina flabelliformis

Erythrina flabelliformis Kearney

Coralbean, Coral-bean, Indian Bean, Chilicote

Fabaceae (Pea Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: ERFL7

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

A shrub or small tree, leafless much of the year, with prickly stems and leafstalks, and long, bright red flowers in racemes near ends of the branches. Coral-bean is a shrub that can grow to 15 ft. with a trunk diameter of up to10 in.; it is usually, however, much smaller. Much of the year the leafless brown stems are scarcely noticeable. In warm months of spring and early summer, clusters of red, tubular flowers sprout from the stem tips. The plants are most conspicuous in fall when their fan-shaped leaflets have turned golden and the brown pods open to reveal dark-orange seeds.

This plant, though handsome in flower, is leafless and unattractive most of the year.

 

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Fruit Type: Legume
Size Notes: Up to about 15 feet tall.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Red
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Aug , Sep
Bloom Notes: Main flowering season is spring and early summer. May rebloom in late summer to early fall with heavy rains.

Distribution

USA: AZ , NM
Native Distribution: S.w. NM, s. AZ & n. Mex.
Native Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes & washes

Growing Conditions

Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil Description: Dry, rocky soils
Conditions Comments: Sensitive to frost.

Web Reference

Webref 75 - Southwest Desert Flora (2020) Southwest Desert Flora
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Erythrina flabelliformis in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Erythrina flabelliformis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Erythrina flabelliformis

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-06-06
Research By: TWC Staff

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