AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 
531 
Erythrea—continued. 
E. littoralis (shore). ji. pink, crowded, sessile, fasciculate. June. 
l. ovate-oblong, obtuse. Stem simple or branched, dwarf, tetra- 
gonal, h. gin. Europe (Britain). Biennial. (Sy. En. B. 908.) 
Fic. 732. FLOWERING STEM OF ERYTHR#A MUHLENBERGI. 
Muhlenbergi (Muhlenberg’s).* f. of a deep pink colour, with 
a greenish-white star in the centre. Spring. l. oblong-obtuse, 
the floral ones lanceolate. Branches numerous, slender. h. 8in. 
California. An excellent plant for growing on rockwork, or for 
margins of a loamy border. See Fig. 732. 
E. venusta (charming). fi. usually pink, star-like ; corolla lin. in 
diameter ; tube slender; lobes of the limb elliptic, obtuse, deep 
rose-coloured, yellow at the base, as long as the tube, August. 
l. in pairs, scattered, sessile, }in. to lin. long, oblong or ovate- 
oblong, rounded at the apex; base rounded or cordate ; upper 
and floral leaves narrower and acute or acuminate. Stem simple 
or cymosely branched above, few-flowered. h. 6in.to10in. Cali- 
fornia, 1878. A slender erect hardy annual. (B. M. 6396.) 
. ERYTHRINA (from erythros, red; referring to the 
-eolour of the flowers). Coral-tree. ORD. Leguminose. 
A genus of about thirty species of trees and shrubs, 
principally natives of tropical regions in both the New 
World and the Old, and at the Cape. Flowers coral- 
red, large, in dense racemes, produced usually before 
the development of the large leaves (in a few species, 
on the ends of the annual shoots); calyx split, spatha- 
ceous, bilabiate; petals very unequal; standard large ; 
upper stamen free to the base, or sometimes connate with 
the others half-way up the filaments; anthers uniform. 
Pod linear, turgid, torulose. Leaves constantly tri- 
foliolate. 
Cultivation. All the Erythrinas like a strong loamy 
soil, an abundance of water when not at rest, and 
exposure to bright sunlight. The tree and shrubby- 
stemmed species should be kept growing all summer in 
a warm house, and treated liberally, so as to induce 
vigorous growth. In September, water should be gradu- 
ally withheld, so that the wood may ripen, the leaves 
fall off, and the plants go to rest for the winter. Early 
in spring, they should be repotted or top-dressed, 
placed in a hot, moist temperature, and supplied with 
plenty of water at the roots. This treatment should 
cause them to produce their large racemes of gorgeous 
flowers. If it be necessary to cut away any of the 
branches, it should not be done till after the flowers 
7 
are over, as these are developed on the ripened wood 
Erythrina— continued. 
of the previous year. The herbaceous-stemmed species, 
E. crista-galli and. E. herbacea, form a stout rootstock, 
from which shoots are annually produced, and upon these 
the flowers are borne in autumn, Both these kinds 
should be started in heat, in spring, unless when 
planted out of doors, in which case they may be left to 
start themselves on the approach of warm weather. 
For pot specimens, however, a little extra heat assists 
the rootstocks, and is conducive to the free production 
of shoots. As these increase in strength, a lower tem- 
perature will be sufficient, till, finally, the plants may be 
placed out of doors for the summer. By taking off the 
young shoots with a heel, in spring, and inserting them 
in sandy soil, on a little bottom heat, a stock is easily 
obtained. After flowering, the shoots die down, when 
the plants may be placed under stages in cool houses, 
where they can be kept dry and at rest till the follow- 
ing spring. Erythrinas, planted out of doors, require a 
covering of leaves or cocoa-nut fibre, to protect the boles 
from frost. 
E. Corallodendron (Coral-tree). A. deep scarlet, large, in long 
racemes, appearing when the leaves have fallen. May and June, 
l., leaflets broad, r. grey ies age Pg unarmed. Stem 
arboreous, prickly. A. 6ft. to 12ft. West Indies, 1690. Syn. E. 
- spinosa, 
Fic. 733. PORTION OF ANNUAL HERBACEOUS FLOWERING 
SHOOT OF ERYTHRINA CRISTA-GALLI. 
E. (Cockscomb).* Common Coral-tree. fl. bright 
deep scarlet, disposed in large terminal racemes, May to July, l, 
—— oval or ovate, glaucescent, coriaceous, bluntish ; ; 
ickly, glandular. Stems woody. h. 6ft. to 8ft. B „ATT 
This fine species is by far the most — cultivated one. 
In the southern counties, it is almost hardy. SYN. E, laurifolia. 
Fig. 733 (B. M. 2161.) 
(glaucous). /l. copper-coloured. Summer. l., leaflets 
ovate, glaucous beneath; petioles almost unarmed. Stem 
arboreous, prickly. A. 10ft. South America, 1819. 
herbacea (herbaceous). fi. deep scarlet, distant ; racemes 
ager June to —— L, leaflets ovate or somewhat — 
hastate. Branches herbaceous, annual, and, Ra a! e 
unarmed and glabrous. h, 2ft. to 3ft. Cara, T 4 - 3 
877.) E. Bidwilli isa hybrid between H herbacea and E 
See 
