Erythrina sacleuxii Hua

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/34635/2853710

Conservation

NT - near threatened

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation

Not Threatened

Ecology

Africa: Zanzibar-Inhambane regional transition zone ; woodland., Zanzibar-Inhambane regional transition zone; bushland and thicket., Zanzibar-Inhambane regional transition zone; forest, Zanzibar-Inhambane regional transitional zone; wooded grassland

Morphology General Habit

Perennial, Not climbing, Tree

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

Morphology General Habit

Stiffly branched tree 9–24 m. tall, with open rounded crown; bark grey-brown, smooth, but with ridges of scattered corky prickle-tipped emergences; commencing to flower before the leaves develop.

Morphology Branches

Young branchlets stout, drooping, densely covered with short straight black prickles, scarred, at first ferruginous hairy, later glabrous.

Morphology Leaves

Leaflets rhomboid-ovate, the terminal one broadly so, 5–20 cm. long, 4·7–22 cm. wide, narrowed or acuminate to a very rounded or blunt apex, broadly cuneate or truncate at the base, ferruginous velvety when in very juvenile undeveloped state, but soon completely glabrous save for a very few branched hairs on the midrib beneath, sometimes with small prickles on the main veins and midrib; petiole 6·5–27·5 cm. long, often prickly; rhachis 2·5–8·5 cm. long; petiolules 4–7 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences dense; rhachis 6–13 cm. long, densely ferruginous tomentose; peduncle 21–27 cm. long, stout at the base, similarly tomentose; pedicels thick, 3 mm. long; bracts linear, thickened in the middle, 1·1 cm. long, just over 1 mm. wide, rather thick, ferruginous pubescent, soon deciduous; bracteoles filiform, 3–4 mm. long, similarly deciduous.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx at first fusiform, narrowed above, often curved, tipped by 5 linear lobes, densely ferruginous tomentellous, later deeply divided to near the base on one side to form a spathe; tubular part 1·5–2·1 cm. long; lobes 6·8 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Standard crimson, distinctly and broadly clawed, oblong-elliptic, 4–5·5 cm. long, 1·8–3·5 cm. wide, rounded; wings whitish, ±1·7 cm. long; keel-petals whitish, ± 1 cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods shortly stipitate, very woody, curved or contorted, 9–14 cm. long, 2·2–3 cm. wide, 2–9-seeded, extremely markedly constricted between the seeds (often exaggerated by abortion of several seeds) to form subglobose compartments 2·2–3 cm. in diameter, densely ferruginous tomentose; valves at length completely separating, obscurely wrinkled outside.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds scarlet, oblong-ellipsoid, slightly angled, sometimes canoe-shaped at the ends, longest dimension 1·1–1·5 cm., shorter dimension 7·5–8·5 mm.; hilum black, elliptic, 7–8·5 mm. long, 4 mm. wide, margined by a thin adnate rim-aril.

Habitat

Scattered tree grassland, bushland, open woodland, semi-deciduous and evergreen coastal forest; also as a relic in coconut and mixed plantations; 0–450 m.

Distribution

not known elsewhere (see note) K7 P T3 T6 T8 Z