Erythrina variegata Linn.

Erythrina variegata Linn.

FAMILY: FABACEAE
Morphological characters:

Habit:-A tree reaching 60 ft. in height; bark thin, smooth, grey, armed with small conical dark-coloured prickles.
Leaves:- 6-12 in. long, deciduous; petioles 4-6 in. long, unarmed, readily disarticulating.
Leaflets:- 4-6 by 31/2 -5 in. long., the terminal leaflets the largest, membranous, broadly rhomboid-ovate, acute or acuminate, more or less stellately pubescent when young, glabrous, when mature, base truncate or rhomboid; petiolules 1/3-1/2 in. long.
Stipels:- Thick, roundish, gland-like, persistent.
Stipules:- Lanceolate, 3/8in. long, very caduceus.
Inflorescence:- Appearing before the leaves, in dense racemes, 4-9 in. long, arranged in clusters of 1-3 on a puberulous or tomentose rhachis; peduncles stout, woody, reaching 6 in. long.
Flowers:-Bracteate, bracteolate, complete, bisexuals, zygomorphic, pentamerous, hypogynous or perigynous.
Pedicels:- 1\4 in. long.
Bract:- Small, triangular, tomentose; deciduous.
Bracteoles:- 1\6 in. long, subulate, tomentose.
Calyx:- Tubular, 5-toothed at the tip, 1-11\4 in. long, clothed with deciduous tomentum, mouth very oblique, the upper segment subulate, the 2 lateral similar, the lowest one larger and doubled over the others so as to form a blunt point to the bud, the calyx soon splitting down the beck to the base and appearing like a spathe.
Corolla:- Bright red, 2-21\2 in. long; standard 1-11-2 in. broad; wings and keel-petals sub equal.
Androecium:- Stamens much exserted, Stamens (9)+1, Diadelphous.
Gynoecium:- Monocapellary, superior, unilocular ovary, with marginal placentation, style singal, long, slightly bearded at the top incurved and stigma simple, terminal.
Pods:- 5-12 in. long; stalked, subcylindric, distinctly torulose, glabrescent.
Seeds:- 4-8, reniform, 3\4by 3\8 in., brown.
Flowering:- Feb-March.