North Carolina Wildflowers, Shrubs, & Trees

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages


Fabaceae > Erythrina (Coral Bean)

Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea) Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea)
New Hanover Co., NC
26 Aug 2006

Rare in the NC coastal plain in sandy wooded habitats.

Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea) Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea)
New Hanover Co., NC
26 Aug 2006

Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea) Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea)
New Hanover Co., NC
26 Aug 2006

NC is the northern end of its range, where Coral Bean tends to be a perennial herb to small shrub. Further south, it can be a small tree. Note pinnately compound leaves with 3 leaflets.

Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea) Coral Bean, Cherokee Bean, Cardinal Spear (Erythrina herbacea)
New Hanover Co., NC
26 Aug 2006

Leaflet detail.


Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; Alan Weakley's Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Supplemental resources include USDA plants website, and NatureServe.


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Created on ... Sep 9, 2006 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com