Erythrina latissima

Erythrina latissima, the broad-leaved choral tree, is a small to medium-sized, thickset tree (SA Tree No. 244). The stem is woolly when young, becoming thick, grey, fissured, thorny and corky on mature trees.

The common name can be recognized in the broadly ovate leaflets of the trifoliolate leaves. The specific name latissima means very broad in Latin, referring to these leaflets. The leaves sometimes have scattered prickles. Young leaves are also covered in woolly hairs on both surfaces.

The species is found in the eastern parts of South Africa. It grows in coastal Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, then inland further north in Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld woodland. It also grows in Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

The habitat is varied, including grassy slopes, wooded grassland, scrub forest and rocky outcrops. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

A powder made from burnt bark of E. latissima is used in dressings for open sores. A variety of chemical substances, some used in treating fungal infections, have been found in the pods and wood of this tree. The colourful seeds, known as lucky beans, are sometimes strung along as necklaces (Coates Palgrave, 2002; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).