Erythrina caffra

Coast Coral Tree; Kuskoraalboom (Afrikaans); umSinsi (Zulu); umSintsi (Xhosa)  Article by Geoff Nichols

These trees provide the illusion of warmth and a bright splash of colour during the cold drab days of winter. This year the trees seem to have outdone themselves. I like to think this is because of the exceptionally dry weather we have had along the coast. This is a coastal species that will not live inland if there is frost. E. caffra has more flame orange flowers that are more opened and occurs in the wild from about East London in the Eastern Cape to about Port Shepstone. However it has been in cultivation in the Durban area for generations with some huge specimens in the councillors’ car park at the Durban City Hall and on the Esplanade. It is the largest of our coral trees, it has a rough orangy grey coloured bark armed with many hooked spines. These spines can also be found on the leaves and young stems of this species.

Pods ripen to a dark brown colour splitting to expose bright red seeds that are easy to germinate and grow out to become great garden subjects. The wood is soft and brittle and when dry makes wonderful nest logs for barbets and woodpeckers. If a dead branch remains in the tree for longer than a year or two and has holes already bored into the wood then the secondary hole nesters like the plum-coloured, black-bellied and Cape glossy starlings plus the grey-headed sparrow and maybe if you are lucky a pair of red-billed wood hoopoes now know as the green hoopoe, will occupy the holes. The range of birds that visit these trees in winter for a meal of either nectar, flowers, seeds or insects is staggering. In Durban the Vervet Monkeys love the petals and whole troops will feast on these flowers for weeks.
During July and August these trees are visited by sunbirds and here in Durban we have five species: collared, white-bellied, grey, olive, purple-banded and black sunbirds visiting the flowers.
E. caffra makes a great shaped tree with a dappled shade that allows you to grow a huge variety of other plants under them. The lichen covered stems are a great support for growing epiphytic ferns and orchids. In southern KZN two species of epiphytic orchid are often found growing on these trees they are Mystacidium capense and the winter flowering Mystacidium venosum. Both orchids are tiny plants in relation to the tree but when in flower have a very pleasing sweet scent at night.
If you trim the lower branches carefully you'll even grow a passable lawn, but on the other hand who wants lawn when you can have natural undergrowth! So much better for the wildlife. In a garden design try to put coral trees in front of a dark background of green the red flowers then really vibrate with the green and make a doubly spectacular sight.
This is an ideal avenue tree for the entrance into your farm if you live on the KwaZulu-Natal coast.