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Erythrina vespertilio
Also called Bat Wing Coral Tree, Beantree, Brake Block Pine, Coraltree, Corktree, Grey Corkwood, Heilaman Tree
In Singapore: Bat's Wing Coral Tree, Gray Corkwood (Grown in Singapore)
Bat's wing coral tree is a small, straggly, drought-tolerant tree from northern Australia, grown for its scarlet flowers and bat-wing leaves. It is a species, not a genus, and is grown in full sun on well-drained soil.
Erythrina vespertilio is a tree native to north and north-east Australia. Its common names are grey corkwood, bat's wing coral tree, yulbah and the more ambiguous "bean tree". In the Western Desert language it is known as ininti and in Arrernte and Anmatyerr it is known as atywerety.
E. vespertilio is found on all mainland states except Victoria, mainly in open woodlands but extends to arid areas and rainforest margins. It is found in the Kimberley, Pilbara and northern Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia, throughout most of the Northern Territory and Queensland, northern South Australia and north eastern New South Wales. It found in an altitudinal range from near sea level to 800 metres (2,625 ft). It grows in a wide range of soils as long as drainage is good and it has a position in full sun.
It was widely traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians in Central Australia for making woomeras and coolamons. The Warlpiri, Anmatyerr, Arrernte and Alyawarr, use the wood to make shields, used either for warfare or ceremonially. These shields could then be used for making fire with the friction method.
Machete · Coral erythrina · Flame coral tree · Cockspur Coral Tree · Basul · Brazilian Coral Tree · Bucayo · Dwarf erythrina · Broad Leaved Coral Tree · Sacred Coral-tree · Mountain immortelle · Erythrina resupinata
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Erythrina vespertilio by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
