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Erythrina stricta
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Family:
FABACEAE/LEGUMINOSAE (Subfam.: Papilionoideae)
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Citation: Erythrina stricta Roxb., Fl. Ind. 3: 251. 1832; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 189. 1876; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 354(250). 1918; Manilal, Fl. Silent Valley 81. 1988; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 130. 1989; Sanjappa, Legumes Ind. 173. 1992; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 142. 1996; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 211. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 105. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 94. 2002; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 210. 2002; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 178. 2005; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 290. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Aann-murikku, Mullumurukku, Murikku, Venmurukku
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Indian Coral tree
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Description:
Trees, to 15 m high, bark 10-20 mm thick, surface yellowish, vertically fissured, armed with bossed prickles; outer bark corky, stratified, inner bark thin fibrous; branchlets apically stellate-pubescent, basally glabrescent, densely prickled. Leaves trifoliate, alternate, leaflets 5-12.5 x 3.7-10 cm, deltoid, truncate or obtuse, apex subacute or acuminate, margin entire, glabrous, membranous; stipules small, lateral; rachis 10-13 cm long, slender, glabrous, pulvinate, prickled or not; stipels gland-like; petiolule 5-10 mm long, slender, glabrous; nerves 3-7 from base, palmate, lateral nerves 5-7, pinnate, prominent, intercostae reticulate, prominent. Flowers bisexual, 5 x 1.8 cm, red, clustered on the brown-tomentose rachis, in terminal racemes; bracts ovate; bracteole 3 mm; pedicel 3 in a cluster, to 8 mm. Calyx spathaceous, 1-1.5 cm, split half way down, glabrous, erect; corolla deep red. Petals 5; standard 5 x 2.5 cm, oblong-lanceolate; wings 5.5 x 3 mm, obovate; keel 2 x 0.7 cm, ovate. Stamens10, monadelphous, vexillary filament free; staminal sheath 2.5 cm; filaments 1 and 1.5 cm long; anthers uniform. Ovary inferior, stipitate, 2 cm, pubescent, 1-celled, ovules many; style 1.5 cm, suberect; stigma capitate. Fruit a pod, 5-10 cm long, lanceolate; seeds 3-6, black.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
January-May
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District(s):
Palakkad, Kottayam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Wayanad, Kannur
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Moist deciduous forests
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Distribution:
India, China, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Red
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
600-800
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Localities:
Vellanimala, Vallakkadavu, Karimala, Walakkad, Moozhiar, Paduka, Bonaccord
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