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Fabaceae ( = Leguminosae)

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The Fabaceae is a large family of 650 genera and over 18,000 species of dicotyledenous flowering herbs and trees, commonly called legumes or pulses. The family is numerically the third largest after Orchidaceae and Asteraceae respectively. Flowers have five petals and a superior ovary. One of the unifying characteristics is the dehiscent seed pod with seeds present in a row, sometimes in individual sections. Flowers have 10 or more stamens. A common feature is symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which reside in special root nodules and fix atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate assisting the plants' growth on poor soils. When used as a green manure they add nitrogen to the soil.
 
The Fabaceae are of great agricultural importance as food crops (beans, lentils, peanuts, peas, soybeans) and fodder crops or green manure (alfafa, clover, lupins, soybean). However, many species contain toxic lectins and other poisons in their seeds. The family includes many ornamental (Acacia, Laburnum, Mimosa) and xerophytic trees (Acacia, Mesquite, Paolo Verde).
 
Succulent genera: Cassia, Dolichos, Elephantorrhiza, Erythrina, Neorautenania, Senna

Erythrina  Linnaeus 1753 (Coral Trees)

This family includes around 130 species of shrubby caudiciforms and large trees, some pachycaul and with thorns. They are found from the Southern USA to Argentina, Hawaii, and in tropical and sub-tropical countries worldwide including Africa and Asia. The ability of the seed of Erythrina fusca and other Erythrinas (sea beans) to remain viable in seawater probably explains its distribution in both Old World and New World countries.
 
As legumes, these plants and trees host nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules. Many species have bright red or orange nectar-rich flowers followed by pods of seeds. Both nectar and seeds sustain many species of bird. However, the seeds of many species contain toxic alkaloids and should not be eaten by mammals. Despite this, several species are considered to have medicinal properties.

Erythrina herbacea

Erythrina herbacea  Linnaeus 1753 (Cardinal Spear, Cherokee Bean)
A flowering shrub from Northern Mexico and the South Eastern USA. Herbaceous stems arise from a woody base and typically die back to the base in Winter. In frost-free areas, the stems grow taller and become woody. The showy spikes of tubular red flowers are attractive to humming birds and are followed by black pods of toxic red seeds. The compound leaves with three pointed leaflets and thorned petioles, are usually produced after the flowers.
 
An interesting plant for a collector of caudicifoms or bonsai and a decorative plant for a tropical garden. All parts contain poisons that cause paralysis in mammals.


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