Tropical Plant Database - Plant Details

Erythrina americana is a tree reaching 5 meters in height. The branches are wide spreading, making the tree generally wider than it is tall. The stem and trunk of this species have spines along their length. The leaves are trifoliate with rhombic-ovate leaflets 7-22cm long. The leaves are shed during the winter dry season in the species’ native range. The flowers are produced in terminal spikes that appear in early spring as the foliage appears. The petals are carmine red. The wings and the keel (lower petals) are enclosed by the tubular standard (upper petal). The calyx is hairy. The pods are up to 12cm long, with constrictions between each seed. The pod has a long, narrow beak at its apex. The seeds are 0.7-1.0cm long, red in color

Bailey, L. H. (1976) Hortus third : a concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United and Canada. Macmillan, New York.

García-Mateos, R., Soto-Hernández, M. and Vibrans, H. (2001) Erythrina americana Millar (“Colorin”, Fabaceae), A versatile resource from Mexico: A review. Economic Botany 55 (3): 392-400

The flowers, seeds, leaves and bark are believed to have sedative effects in folk medicine and are used in some parts of the species range as a treatment for insomnia.

In the region of Veracruz, the leaves are used for the treatment of abscesses and ulcers. The leaves are also ingested for the treatment of external stings.

Extracts from the fruit are applied to soothe skin, and eye inflammations.

Huastec Mayan Women of Northeastern Mexico use the bark as a natural contraceptive after the birth of a child.

The species is also used for its believed anti-malarial properties in Guerrero province.

García-Mateos, R., Soto-Hernández, M. and Vibrans, H. (2001) Erythrina americana Millar (“Colorin”, Fabaceae), A versatile resource from Mexico: A review. Economic Botany 55 (3): 392-400

The seeds are highly toxic.

Sotelo, A., Soto, M., Lucas, B. and Giral, F. (1993) Comparative studies of the alkaloidal composition of two Mexican Erythrina species and nutritive value of the detoxified seeds. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 41: 2340-2343.

Erythrina americana is widely used in Mexico as a shade tree for economic crops such as coffee. The species is also used widely as living fences. To a lesser extent it is used as green manure and animal feed, owing to the plants nitrogen content, due to the species being a legume.

The species is also widely grown as an ornamental. The bright red seeds are also used in jewelry.

García-Mateos, R., Soto-Hernández, M. and Vibrans, H. (2001) Erythrina americana Millar (“Colorin”, Fabaceae), A versatile resource from Mexico: A review. Economic Botany 55 (3): 392-400

Central México: Veracruz, Hidalgo, Estado de México, Morelos, Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca). The species has been introduced and now grows in the warmer areas of Europe, South-eastern states of the U.S, Cuba, Hawaii and in tropical Africa.

García-Mateos, R., Soto-Hernández, M. and Vibrans, H. (2001) Erythrina americana Millar (“Colorin”, Fabaceae), A versatile resource from Mexico: A review. Economic Botany 55 (3): 392-400

The flowers are incorporated into salads and soups or used to make tea owing to their unique flavor qualities. They are also prepared with eggs in an omelet-like dish in some parts of Mexico.
García-Mateos, R., Soto-Hernández, M. and Vibrans, H. (2001) Erythrina americana Millar (“Colorin”, Fabaceae), A versatile resource from Mexico: A review. Economic Botany 55 (3): 392-400

Under no conservation threat.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature: Red List (IUCN) (2002+): Published on the internet, www.iucnredlist.org/search (12th February 2008).

This species has been widely studied due to its chemical constituents. The review article by García-Mateos et al. (2001) published in Economic Botany is an excellent source for further published research on this species.

García-Mateos, R., Soto-Hernández, M. and Vibrans, H. (2001) Erythrina americana Millar (“Colorin”, Fabaceae), A versatile resource from Mexico: A review. Economic Botany 55 (3): 392-400

We currently have 2 herbarium specimens for Erythrina americana in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.

• 015720 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1994
• 015234 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1994