Coral Tree
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Coral Tree
(Erythrina corallodendron), a low, deciduous, prickly tree of the family Leguminosae. The leaves are ternate. The flowers measure up to 5 cm long and are papilionaceous, with a long slender standard. These reddish pink flowers are in racemes. The fruits are moniliform pods with bright red seeds that resemble coral. The coral tree grows in tropical America. It is cultivated in warm countries as an ornamental; it is also used as a rapidly growing shade tree in coffee and cacao plantations. The bark is used for medicinal purposes in Brazil. In the USSR the coral tree is cultivated on the Black Sea Shore of the Caucasus and in the Southern Crimea. The name is also applied to other species of the genus Erythrina.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.