Papilionaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:2. 1958
Kew Species Profiles
Coral tree has nothing to do with coral reefs - the name comes from the stunning bright red colour of its flowers, which appear on the tree in profusion when it is still without leaves. These flowers stand out starkly against the deeply fissured bark, and present quite a show in the wooded grassland which is its natural habitat. The bark is covered in large, sharp spines, and because of this, the tree is planted for hedging. Only a very determined intruder would try to pass through a hedge made of this tree - and a stupid one, too, because a good coral tree hedge is impenetrable. It is a common tree in villages, planted for its medicinal uses and beauty, as well as for hedging.
Native to Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon.
DescriptionOverview: A tree growing up to 7 m tall, rarely to 15 m, with deeply fissured, corky bark. The branches and bark are armed with slightly hooked spines up to 10 mm long.
Flowers and fruits of Erythrina senegalensis
Leaves: The leaves are composed of three leaflets, each measuring 5-15 × 4-10 cm and having a thorny stalk.
Flowers: The flowers appear in large groups at the end of the branches, when the tree is leafless (in the first half of the dry season). The flowers are bright red and 4-5 cm long.
Fruits: The fruit is a bent, twisted and slightly hairy pod, 7-15 × 1 cm. It is constricted between the seeds, which are bright red.
Reproduction is by seed, but farmers also propagate the tree by taking cuttings. There are no known varieties or subspecies. The corky bark enables the tree to withstand the fires which regularly pass over the West African savanna.
Common namescoral tree, coral flower (English); arbre corail, érythrine du Sénégal (French); matiéréré (Badyara); figéra, figẹ́ru, figira, figra, msis (Balanta); kidolin, si foli (Banyun); a-térif, a-tiéril, a-tiéris (Basari); gi-tyelὲr (Bedik).
Threats and conservationThere are no known threats to this coral tree, which is quite widespread and widely planted, though the extensive use of its bark for medicine often causes trees to be almost stripped of their bark.
Conservation assessments carried out by KewErythrina senegalensis is being monitored as part of the Sampled Red List Index Project, which aims to produce conservation assessments for a representative sample of the world's plant species. This information will then be used to monitor trends in extinction risk and help focus conservation efforts where they are needed most.
Uses Traditional medicineThis coral tree has a large number of traditional medicinal uses in West Africa. The bark and roots are used against stomach disorders and as a general tonic, and the bark and leaves are used for dressing wounds.
Erythrina senegalensis (coral tree) Other usesThe wood is used for making knife handles.
The seeds are made into necklaces and used as game counters, despite being poisonous.
Erythrina senegalensis is planted as an ornamental and used for hedging.
Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storageKew's Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life world wide, focusing on plants under threat and those likely to be of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault.
A collection of Erythrina senegalensis seeds is held in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank based at Wakehurst in West Sussex.
Search Kew's Seed Information Database for further information on Erythrina senegalensis seeds
CultivationThis coral tree can be grown easily and quickly from woody cuttings.
This species at KewSpirit-preserved specimens of Erythrina senegalensis are held in Kew's Herbarium, where they are available to researchers by appointment. The details of some of these specimens can be seen online in Kew's Herbarium Catalogue.
Coral tree pods and seeds are held in Kew's Economic Botany Collection.
The seeds are poisonous. The bark bears sharp spines.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19892718/20072141
International Legume Database and Information Service
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
