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Erythrina caffra 'South Coast' (Cream Coast Coral Tree) - A medium to large semi-deciduous tree to 30 feet tall or slightly more by as wide with dark scattered prickles along the stems and bear dark green trifoliate leaves with ovate leaflets that often drop in late fall or early winter. The showy flowers, appearing on thick stalks at the branch tips mid-winter to early spring, have a short wide standard petal that curves upward to show of the stamens below. Typically this species has bright red flowers but this unusual selection has cream colored flowers with a light reddish tint to the buds and petal margins. Often leaf drop and flowering occur at the same time making for a very beautiful sight.
Plant in full sun and irrigate only occasionally - quite drought tolerant in coastal southern California. This tree is not very frost tolerant with tip damage occurring even in short duration temperatures much below 28°F. The typical Erythrina caffra is a popular tree in southern California because of its large size, its abundance of red winter flowers over a long period, its dark green foliage and its ease of cultivation. A nice garden tree that deserves a location in a dry location in the garden. As with many of the coral trees this species produces heavy trunks of soft wood that when overwatered that are prone to breakage so it is best to water infrequently. The nectar is attractive to birds.
Erythrina caffra is found in forests in frost-free, or nearly so, coastal regions of the Eastern Cape and northern KwaZulu-Natal. The name Erythrina is from the Greek word 'erythros' meaning "red" in reference to the color of the flowers of most of the species. The specific epithet was applied to this plant by Carl Thunberg, often cited as the father of South African botany and comes from the Arabic word for an unbeliever. In the past this word was use to describe the people and plants coming from eastern South Africa, as this was an area south of the range of Arab traders. This particular selection comes from seed collected at South Coast Botanic Garden in August 2012 and we sold these plants in 2013 and 2014.
This information about Erythrina caffra 'South Coast' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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