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Erythrina fusca Loureiro.

Article · January 1997

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Erythrina fusca Loureiro
Fl. Cochinch.: 427 (1790).

LEGUMINOSAE – PAPILIONOIDEAE

2n = 42

Synonyms Erythrina glauca Willd. (1801), Erythrina ovalifolia Roxb.

(1832), Erythrina atrosanguinea Ridley (1911).

Vernacular names Purple coral-tree, coral bean, swamp immortelle

(En). Bucayo (Am). Bois immortelle, immortelle blanc (Fr). Indonesia:
cangkring (Javanese, Sundanese), rase, kane (southern Sulawesi).
Malaysia: dedap, dadap. Papua New Guinea: maor (Lamekot),
vatamida (Ugana). Philippines: anii (Tagalog), korung-korung (Bisaya).
Cambodia: roluöhs phâ-'aông. Laos: th'o:ng hla:ng. Thailand:
thonglang nam, thonglong (central). Vietnam: v[oo]ng d[oo]ng (Ho Chi
Minh City), v[oo]ng gai (Quang Nam), c[aa]y son dong (Annamese).

Origin and geographic distributionErythrina fusca is the most

widespread species in the genus Erythrina L. occurring wild in both the
Old and New World tropics. In Asia and Oceania it occurs along coasts
and rivers from India to the Philippines, New Guinea and Polynesia; in
Africa in Madagascar, the Mascarene Islands, the Comoro Islands and
Pemba Island, but not in continental Africa; in Central and South
America in the West Indies, throughout the Amazon basin, and along
the coast of Brazil, Colombia, up to Honduras and Guatemala. It is now
planted throughout the humid tropics.

Uses Erythrina fusca is widely planted as a shade tree in cocoa and

coffee plantations in Central and South America and, less frequently, in
South-East Asia. In Sumatra and Central America, pepper and vanilla
vines are commonly planted with Erythrina fusca as live stakes. In
Costa Rica, Erythrina fusca is occasionally used in live fences, though
much less commonly than Erythrina berteroana Urban and
other Erythrina spp. In Central America it is used as a source of
fodder.|The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable in Java and Bali, the
flowers in Guatemala. In Indonesia the bark is used for poulticing fresh
wounds, and bark or root decoctions against beri-beri. Like
many Erythrinaspp. it is often planted for ornamental purposes.

Properties The edible portion of the leaves contains per 100 g dry
matter: 20—22 g crude protein; in vitro digestibility ranges from 30—
55%. The mineral content of the leaves per 100 g dry matter is: N 3.2
g, P 0.15 g, K 1.0 g, Ca 1.3 g, Mg 0.5 g.|As in other Erythrina spp., the
seed contains very small amounts of free amino acids and large
amounts of alkaloids. In Erythrina fusca, only the amino acid histidine
occurs in fairly large amounts (0.6—1.0%), which is characteristic of
the species. The only common Erythrina alkaloids found in Erythrina
fusca are erysotrine, erythraline, erysodine, erysovine and erysopine.
Ant-repellent compounds in the nectar have been reported.|The weight
of 1000 seeds is 200—700 g.|The wood is soft with a moderately
coarse texture and an unattractive, straight grain. Growth rings are
absent, axial and radial parenchyma fairly abundant. The colour of the
wood is white to yellow, without differentiation between the heartwood
and the sapwood. The average air-dry density ranges from 250—300
kg/m3.

Description A medium to large, spreading tree, 10—15(—26) m tall,

crown rounded; trunk short, spiny (spines 1—2 cm long), much
branched, sometimes buttressed to 2 m; bark brownish-grey or olive-
brown, flaky. Branches spreading, spiny; branchlets stout, spineless or
aculeate. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate; stipules and stipels orbicular,
caducous; petiole up to 25 cm long, sometimes sparsely prickly; rachis
up to 5 cm long, petiolule up to 1.5 cm; leaflets ovate to elliptical, 2.5—
20 cm x 1.5—15 cm, subcoriaceous, rounded or subacute at both ends,
pale green above, glaucous or greyish-green beneath, glabrous to
velvety hairy. Inflorescence racemose, terminal, appearing when leaves
are present, with pale brick-red or salmon (seldom white) flowers in
fascicles scattered along the rachis, covered with deciduous,
ferruginous hairs, mostly unarmed; peduncle up to 13 cm long; rachis
8—30 cm long; pedicel up to 2 cm long; bracts and bracteoles ovate,
up to 2.5 mm x 2 mm, deciduous; calyx asymmetrical, broadly
campanulate, about 1.5 cm long, lacerate or subentire but with a 0.5—
1.5 mm long spur on the keel side, pubescent; standard rounded-
rhombic, 4—7 cm x 3.5—6 cm, reflexed, orange or scarlet, broadly
folded down the middle, claw 9 mm long; keel slightly longer than the
wings, both about half the length of the standard; stamens 10, 4—6 cm
long, 1 free, 9 united in lower half into staminal tube; pistil 4—6 cm
long, ovary densely pubescent. Fruit a woody, linear, compressed pod,
14—33 cm x 14—18 mm, dehiscent, slightly constricted between the
3—15 seeds, stipe stout, 1.5 cm long, beak 2 cm long, velvety
ferruginously hairy when young, later glabrescent. Seed oblong-
ellipsoid, 12—18 mm x 5—8 mm, dark brown or black.

Growth and development Young plants nodulate well under natural

conditions. Trees flower when in leaf, and flowers are frequently visited
and pollinated by birds. Fruits mature in approximately two months.

Other botanical information Trees nearly devoid of spines exist and

have also been bred. Hybridization is frequent where
several Erythrina species co-occur.

Ecology Erythrina fusca is found from sea level up to 2000 m altitude,

within a wide range of rainfall patterns, from 1200 mm to over 3000
mm annually, with or without a seasonal distribution. Average daily
temperatures range from 16—24°C at the higher elevations to over
26°C in the lowlands. It seems to prefer littoral locations with badly
drained soils like swamps and stream banks and upland riverine
marshes. In low-lying freshwater swampsErythrina fusca attains huge
dimensions and sometimes develops almost pure stands. In an
experiment in Cauca, Colombia, on an acid soil of pH 4.3 and an
aluminium saturation of 80%, it showed better growth than Samanea
saman (Jacq.) Merrill and Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Rafinesque,
which are considered tolerant of such conditions.|Seeds of Erythrina
fusca float in water and are dispersed by ocean currents. They have
been found on the beaches of cays of the Great Barrier Reef of
Australia. Erythrina fusca and Erythrina variegata L. were among the
first species to colonize Krakatau Island (Indonesia), only a few years
after the cataclysmic eruption in 1883.

Propagation and planting When used as a shade or nurse

tree, Erythrina fusca is propagated by large cuttings, about 2 m long
and 6—10 cm in diameter. Rooting success is excellent, provided soil
moisture is close to field capacity. Cuttings start sprouting in 2—4
weeks. Erythrina fusca can also be propagated easily by seed. Fresh
seed has a germination rate of 80—95%. In Costa Rica, trees
supporting black pepper vines are planted at a density of 1600
trees/ha.

Husbandry Established trees withstand regular pruning very well. They

start sprouting rapidly and develop strong shoots. In Mexico, when
shading cocoa, Erythrina fusca is managed under a moderate regime of
pruning. Trees are partially pollarded once every 1—2 years, leaving a
few branches per tree to regulate light influx to the crop. In the per-
humid, tropical lowlands of Costa Rica, on alluvial soil, a 6-month
pollarding cycle is used for trees supporting black pepper vines (Piper
nigrum L.). Annual dry matter production from prunings of 1600
trees/ha (without natural litter fall) is 3.4 t/ha, corresponding to an N
application of 124 kg/ha.|In Bahia, Brazil, it was observed that cocoa
trees planted near Erythrina fusca produced more pods than those
growing further away from the shade trees. Increased litter fall in
plantations with Erythrina fusca added to the available amounts of N
and P in the system, while daily evapotranspiration was reduced from
90 l/tree in unshaded cocoa trees to 40 l/tree in shaded trees on sunny
days. On overcast days, the reduction was about 40%, from 45 l/tree
to 26 l/tree.

Diseases and pests Under conditions of high relative humidity the

bark of Erythrina fusca may be attacked by fungi such as Calostibe
striipora.|In pepper plantations in Sumatra, stakes of Erythrina spp. are
frequently attacked by stem-borers. The damaged stakes may fall over
and the pepper will not produce fruits properly. Two species of borer
insects have been found, a stem-borer (Batocera sp.) and a ring-borer
(family Lecanidae).|In alley cropping,Erythrina spp. may act as a host
to diseases and pests of the associated crops. In Peru, the use
of Erythrina spp. in alley cropping has already been discouraged due to
an increase of shoot and fruit borers. In India, an increased number of
root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) has been observed in
cardamom plantations with Erythrina fusca.

Genetic resources A collection of Erythrina spp. of over 70 entries has

been established at the Waimea Arboretum in Haleiwa, Hawaii. The
Tropical Agricultural Center for Research and Training (CATIE) in
Turrialba, Costa Rica, maintains a collection of 28 species of Erythrina.
Both collections include Erythrina fusca.

Breeding A breeding and selection programme is in progress at CATIE.

Cultivars are being selected for absence of spines, branching habit,
biomass characteristics for livestock fodder and capacity to retain their
leaves during the dry period.

Prospects Erythrina fusca may be of special interest in the

development of agroforestry systems for the per-humid tropics, due to
its adaptability, ease of propagation from cuttings, ability to withstand
regular pruning, and the rapid sprouting and development of shoots.
However, diseases and pests should be monitored closely, as they may
affect both Erythrina fusca and the associated crops. The feasibility of
using it as a nurse tree for other tree species in reforestation projects in
the tropics is an alternative to be explored.
 Literature:

 Baretta-Kuipers, T., 1982. Wood structure of the genus Erythrina.

Allertonia 3(1): 53-69.
 de Oliveira Leite, J. & Valle, R.R., 1990. Nutrient cycling in the
cacao ecosystem: rain and throughfall as nutrient sources for the
soil and cacao tree. Agriculture, Ecosystems and the Environment
32: 143-154.
 Gillett, J.B., Polhill, R.M. & Verdcourt, B., 1971. Erythrina. In:
Milne-Redhead, E. & Polhill, R.M. (Editors): Flora of tropical East
Africa. Leguminosae 4, Papilionoideae 2. Crown Agents for
Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United
Kingdom. p. 547.
 Krukoff, B.A., 1939. The American species of Erythrina. Brittonia
3: 224-227.
 Muschler, R.G., Nair, P.K.R. & Menendez, L., 1993. Crown
development and biomass production of pollarded Erythrina
berteroana, E. fusca and Gliricidia sepium in the humid tropical
lowlands of Costa Rica. Agroforestry Systems 24: 123-143.
 Neill, D.A., 1988. Experimental studies on species relationships in
Erythrina (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae). Annals of the Missouri
Botanical Garden 75: 886-969.
 Russo, R.O., 1990. Erythrina: a versatile nitrogen-fixing woody
legume genus for agroforestry systems in the tropics. Journal of
Sustainable Agriculture 1(2): 89-109.

Author: R.O. Russo & N.T. Baguinon

Source of This Article:

Russo, R.O. & Baguinon, N.T., 1997. Erythrina fusca Loureiro In:
Faridah Hanum, I & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (Editors). Plant Resources
of South-East Asia No. 11: Auxiliary plants. Backhuys Publisher, Leiden,
The Netherlands, pp. 121-123

Recommended Citation:
Russo, R.O. & Baguinon, N.T., 1997. Erythrina fusca Loureiro[Internet]
Record from Proseabase. Faridah Hanum, I & van der Maesen, L.J.G.
(Editors). PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation,
Bogor, Indonesia. http://www.proseanet.org.

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