Common Name:

General Information

Erythrina berteroana is a small deciduous tree, abundantly armed with stout spines, with a broad, spreading, thin crown; it usually grows up to 10 metres tall. The bole can be 30cm in diameter, often branching from low down[, ].
A multi-purpose tree, it is both gathered from the wild and also often cultivated for food and many other purposes. The young leaves, branchlets, and unopened flowers are in common use as a vegetable[]. Large quantities of the flower buds can be found on sale in local markets, sometimes in regions where the tree does not grow[]. They are also exported to areas where Latin Americans have moved[]. The tree is also grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

The seeds have long been known to be poisonous, and in recent years there have been obtained from them several alkaloids, some of which resemble curare in their physiological action[].
The crushed branches are reported to have been used as a fish poison[].
All Erythrina species contain greater or lesser amounts of toxic alkaloids - these can be found in all parts of the plant but are usually most concentrated in the seeds. Concentrations vary from species to species, in some it is low enough that the plant is safely used as a food. In many, the alkaloids are utilized for their medicinal effects. We have no specific information on the concentration of the alkaloids in this species, but care should be exercised in any use of the plant that involves ingestion. These alkaloids have a curare-like action (obtained from Strychnos species) and can cause paralysis and even death by respiratory failure[, ].

Botanical References

Range

Northern S. America - Colombia and Ecuador, through Central America to Mexico; Caribbean.

Habitat

Wet to dry thickets or thin forest, abundant in hedges and fencerows, usually at elevations below 1,000 metres, but also found up to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	10.00 m
Pollinators	Humming birds
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A tree of low to moderate elevations in the tropics, where it is found at elevations from sea level to about 1,800 metres[]. It is found in areas where the annual rainfall ranges from 1,500 - 4,000 mm per year[]. It succeeds in areas with widely ranging temperatures and it is also presumed that in high elevations the plant is frost resistant[].
Succeeds in acid soils with a pH as low as 4[]. Tolerant of soils with a pH up to 8[]. The tree grows in soils with a high aluminium saturation (more than 50 percent)[].
All species in this genus are believed to be self-compatible. Their flowers are adapted to pollination by birds, though various insects can also cause fertilization. The various species of Erythrina can all, as far as is known, be intercrossed to produce fertile hybrids. Those species most closely related to each other cross fairly readily, but even species that are quite distant can hybridize[, ].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

The young leaves, branchlets, and unopened flowers - cooked and used as a vegetable[]. They are usually boiled in two lots of water, which makes them probably safer for eating[]. They are said to have a soporific effect[].

Flower buds - cooked and used like string beans, which they somewhat resemble as they appear on the table[].

Medicinal

The seeds have long been known to be poisonous, and in recent years there have been obtained from
them several alkaloids, some of which resemble curare in their physiological action[].

A decoction of the young shoots is sometimes employed as a narcotic[]. There is a belief in Guatemala and Honduras that if leaves are placed under a pillow, they induce deep and refreshing sleep, a statement that needs further investigation before it is accepted as true![].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is often planted for living fence-posts, a purpose that it serves admirably, large stems rooting readily and the stems being solid in the ground and long-lived[, ]. It is also used for landmarking, windbreaks and erosion control[].
Most Erythrina species are very easy to grow from cuttings, with even quite large branches striking well. In addition, they generally fix atmospheric nitrogen, have nutrient-rich leaves that make an excellent soil-enriching mulch, often have open crowns that do not overly restrict light, and are also often quite thorny and can provide impenetrable barriers to protect from unwelcome intrusions. Many species are therefore used as living fences to provide boundaries and livestock-proof hedges[, ].
The tree is sometimes used as a shade tree for coffee or to support chayote plants (Sechium edule) and vanilla[].
A mulch made from the leaves of this plant has been shown to result in better phosphorus balances, higher microfauna populations and increased crops yield[].

Other Uses

The handsome seeds of this and related species are often used for making bracelets, necklaces, and other decorative articles[].

The bark yields a yellow dye used to colour textiles[, ].

The white to yellow wood is light in weight[].
In spite of the fact that the trunks of growing trees are very solid and hard, the dry wood is light in weight, soft and weak, with a specific gravity of about 0.25. It is employed locally as a substitute for cork, for carving images of saints or small toys, and for other similar purposes[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed - requires pre-treatment, either by simple scarification in order to permit moisture to penetrate the seed, or by pre-soaking the seed in warm water (around 40 °C) for 12 hours[]. Germination rates of 85 to 90 percent have been
obtained in nursery trials using seeds collected during the previous year and stored in cold chambers at 5 °C with a relative humidity of 30 to 40 percent[]. Germination may be carried out in boxes filled with washed sand, and seedlings may be transplanted to black plastic bags filled with a mix of soil, sand, and compost (2:1:1 in volume)[]. Nursery-grown seedlings can be planted in the field when they reach 20 to 30 cm tall. They can be established
either by planting directly in the field or by removing seedlings from nursery beds and planting as bareroot stock, first removing all leaves[].
When vegetatively propagated, large cuttings, 1.5 to 2.5 metres long and 6 to 10 cm in diameter, taken from 1 - 2 year-old branches may be planted up to 40 cm deep[]. This method is used to establish living fences[].

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