Erythrina latissima in bloom

Erythrina latissima blooming can be a festive affair when all is well with a mature tree. Growing here in well-tended park conditions in Mokopane, Limpopo, previously Potgietersrus, it is undisturbed by fire and most other risk. Heights from 5 m to 8 m are reached by such trees, the crown usually broad.

Flowering in compact axillary and terminal heads of up to 25 cm long, happens when the tree is leafless or nearly so, from midwinter to about midspring. The calyx tube, covered in velvety hairs, is split down to near the base with long, slender lobes at its tip.

The standard petal is crimson, scarlet or brownish red. The bunch of creamy stamens protrude from under the standard that folds down along its sides.

The cylindrical fruit pod that follows from late spring to mid-autumn, is large (30 cm by 2,5 cm) and deeply constricted between the seeds. Hairy when young, the pod is dehiscent when ripe.

The seeds are orange to red, each bearing a black spot (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; iNaturalist).