April 2026 Tree of the Month: Brazilian Coral Tree

Erythrina Falcata

In Santa Barbara, April is the best time to see and enjoy the spectacular floral displays of Brazilian Coral Trees.  Large clusters of dazzling coral-colored flowers turn their crowns ablaze.  

In the mid-1930s, Brazilian Coral Tree was first introduced into Santa Barbara when one was planted in Orpet Park.  Surprisingly, it still remains a relatively rare tree in our community – probably because of its large size at maturity, which renders it unsuitable for most residential landscapes.  Nevertheless, it is still used in spacious parks and commercial landscapes, where it is appreciated for its fast growth, gorgeous flowers, and dense canopy of leaves. 

This medium- to large-sized tree can reach 45- to 50-feet tall, with a canopy spread of up to 60-feet wide.  It can often grow larger than the more common African Coral Tree (Erythrina afra). In warmer locations here, it is almost always evergreen – but may be briefly deciduous in colder winters. 

Flowering occurs from late winter to early spring, when dark-orange to scarlet blooms appear in horizontal or drooping clusters (up to 12-inches long) at or near the end of the branches; each cluster contains dozens of individual flowers.  Every exotic-looking, sickle-shaped, flower has a brightly colored primary petal (called a “banner”) that entirely envelopes the reproductive flower parts inside.  The vibrant colors and abundant nectar attract insect and bird pollinators.  Sometimes it can take up to 10 years for a young tree to bloom after planting. 

After pollination, the flowers produce leathery, dark-brown to black, pea-like, seed pods (5-inches long and 1-inch wide) with long terminal beaks. As pods age, they split open to release oval black seeds.  Beware: the seeds are poisonous to eat!

Its foliage consists of dark-green, compound, leaves that develop on long (6- to 8-inches) reddish stems called “petioles”.  Each leaf bears three oval-shaped leaflets (5-inches long and 2½- inches wide).  

Its bark has light- to dark-gray vertical fissures, which can be shallow and almost smooth or deeper with a rough texture.  On young growth, short prickly thorns are pointedly evident; with age, these will often disappear.  

Its wood is the hardest of all the coral trees species – but it is, unfortunately, still brittle; this often results in the unpredictable breakage of heavy limbs.  Consequently, regular pruning is required to develop good overall tree structure and the thinning out of heavy limbs.

While native to the sub-Andean regions of South America (including Peru, Bolivia, Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and northern Argentina), all of which have lush sub-tropical and tropical climates, Brazilian Coral Tree surprisingly grows quite well in our drier Mediterranean climate.  

Brazilian Coral Tree is in the plant family Fabaceae, which includes legumes, peas, and beans – which explains the shape of its seed pods.  Its botanical name is Erythrina falcata.  The genus name, Erythrina, is from the Greek word “erythros” (meaning “red”), referring to the flower color.  The specific epithet, falcata, is from the Latin word “falcula” (meaning “small sickle”), referring to the sickle-shape of each flower.  

This tree prefers full sun and deep well-drained soils.  Once established, it is quite drought tolerant, though it will benefit from occasional deep watering during the dry season and droughts.  It is cold hardy for brief periods down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.   

With its broad spreading canopy and colorful flowers, Brazilian Coral Tree makes a beautiful ornamental shade tree – with a bold appearance – for large private gardens, public parks, and other open spaces.  

Several mature specimens of Brazilian Coral Tree stand in prominent public locations in town:  in the center of Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden; as a street tree in the 500 block of State Street; as a street tree on San Pascual Street (at the corner with Pedregosa Street); and, at various locations on the campus of UC Santa Barbara.  Sadly, the one which was planted so long ago in Orpet Park is no longer there.

Tree-of-the-Month articles are sponsored by Santa Barbara Beautiful, whose many missions include the increase of public awareness and appreciation of Santa Barbara’s many outstanding trees and, in a long-time partnership with the City Parks & Recreation Department, the funding and planting of trees along the City’s streets.

Those who wish to honor a special someone can do so with an attractive commemorative marker that will be installed at the base of an existing street tree in the City of Santa Barbara.  Because Santa Barbara Beautiful has participated in the planting to date of over 14,000 street trees, there are plenty of trees from which to choose!  Application forms are available on the Santa Barbara Beautiful website, www.sbbeautiful.org.  This website also contains an archive of all previously published Tree-of-the-Month articles, including photos.