Erythrina mildbraedii Harms

Leguminosae, J. B. Gillett, R. M. Polhill & B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1971

Morphology General Habit

Tree 12–30 m. tall, with grey bole armed with conical corky-based spines; bark smooth; usually flowering when leafless.

Morphology Branches

Young branchlets grey-brown, prominently ridged and covered with leaf-scars, at first ferruginous tomentose, later glabrescent, sparsely to moderately densely covered with short straight black prickles.

Morphology Leaves

Leaflets elliptic, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, (2·5–)4–11(–19·5) cm. long, (0·6–)2–10 cm. wide, acuminate or subobtuse at the apex, obtuse or rounded at the base, ferruginous tomentose when young, later glabrescent above and with scattered tomentum beneath; main veins not prickly; petiole 3–5(–11) cm. long, at first velvety, later glabrescent; rhachis 1–3·5 cm. long; petiolules 0·4–1·2 cm. long; stipels limited to lateral leaflets, well developed.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences rather dense; rhachis 3–20 cm. long; peduncle 4·5–12 cm. long; pedicels 3–5 mm. long; bracts elliptic, 7–8 mm. long, 4 mm. wide, tomentose; bracteoles linear-lanceolate, 6–8 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, tomentose; all soon deciduous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx at first fusiform, tomentose; tube 1–1·8 cm. long, narrowed above, at length splitting to form a spathe; limb in 2–3 parts forming 2 lips, the lower linear or narrowly oblanceolate, 1–3 cm. long, 1–3 mm. wide, entire or denticulate, the upper ± fan-shaped, 1·2–3 cm. long, usually deeply divided for a third to half its length into 2 diverging lobes, each 3–4 mm. wide, crenulate to 3-toothed or rarely entire with erose or denticulate apex, 4–10 mm. wide.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Standard pink, usually with darker red spots, short-clawed, oblanceolate, 2·2–3·4 cm. long, 0·5–1·2 cm. wide; keel-petals joined, slightly shorter than the wings, both a quarter to a third the length of the standard.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods shortly stipitate, somewhat woody, curved, 5–12 cm. long, 2·5–3 cm. wide, (1–)2–4-seeded, very constricted between the seeds to form globose or oblong-ovoid compartments 2–3 cm. long and 1·7–3 cm. wide, densely ferruginous tomentose; valves completely separating, smooth.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds orange, longest dimension 2 cm., shorter dimension 1 cm.; hilum white.

Habitat

Lowland rain-forest; ? 1500–1600 m.

Distribution

U2 U3 U4

Papilionaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958

Morphology General Habit

A tall tree, 60–100 ft. or more high, buttressed at the base

Morphology General Prickles

Prickles on the trunk and branches

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers usually in threes, corolla and calyx limb pink, in copious softly tomentose panicles, appearing when the tree is leafless.

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation

Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident