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| leaves--what kind of compound leaves are present here? The youngest leaves are at the center of the picture. | one leaf--Erythrina herbacea has very distinctive leaves! |
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| stem, showing how the leaves tend to point upward. Also, notice how long the petioles are. | stem showing pedicels and swollen pedicel bases--what kind of leaf arrangement is present here? |
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| pedicel, showing a prickle--the stems and pedicels of Erythrina can be covered with prickles! How can you tell that these are prickles, and not spines or thorns? | habit--Erythrina is a large shrub or a small tree |
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| fruits--the red seeds stay attached to the pericarp for a little while before they fall off, giving the legumes of this species a very distinctive look! These red seeds are the reason this genus is called Erythrina (the root of this name means "red"), and is also the reason that the common name of this species is "coral bean". | |
