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Adenanthera pavonina

(Acacia Coral, Agati, Agati Petite Feuille, Bead Tree, Bois Noir De Bourbon, Bois Noir Rouge, Circassian Bean, Circassian Seed, Coral Bean Tree, Coral Tree, Coral Wood, Coralitos, Coralwood, Curly Bean, Deleite, Delicia, Dilmawi, False Wiliwili, Jumbi Bead, Lagati, Lera, Lopa, Paina, Peacock Flower-Fence, Pitipitio, Pomea, Popoa, Red Bead Tree, Red Beadtree, Red Sandalwood, Red Sandalwood Tree, Red Sandlewood, Vaivai Ni Vavalagi)

Overview:

Tree from S. E. Asia with pinnate leaves and rather inconspicuous clusters of small yellow flowers. The scarlet "Circassian" seeds are lens shaped, about 1/3 inch in diameter, and are used in lei construction. Seeds (8mm bright red, slightly compressed) used in necklaces, and were once used like Abrus (which has red and black hards seeds) as a standard measureof weight (1 seed c. 4 grains). Adenanthera seeds are twice as heavy as those of Abrus.

The red heartwood is valued for cabinetwork.

According to the Flora of Ceylon (Volume 1) by M.D. Dassanayake, a red dye is obtained from the wood which is used by Brahmins to mark religious symbols on their foreheads. In India, seeds are sometimes hollow out and filled with many minute carved ivory-coloured elephants/ Circassian seeds

Conservation Status

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Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms:

  1. Adenanthera gersenii Scheff.
  2. Corallaria parvifolia Rumph.

Notes:

Publishing author: Scheff Publication: in Flora lii. (1869) 307

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Lewis G.P., 1994-1995

Place of publication: Sp. pl. 1:384. 1753

Name verified on 23-Jun-1987 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 23-Aug-1994

Physical Description

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Subfamily Mimosoideae:

Mostly trees or shrubs. Leaves mostly bipinnate. Corolla usually not showy, actinomorphic, sympetalous, the lobes valvate. Stamens 10-numerous, often monadelphous, showy. Pollen released in monads, tetrads, or polyads. Seeds with u-shaped line (pleurogram) present. [Carr]

Species Adenanthera pavonina:

Medium-sized tree to 15m ht with heavy branching and an open, spreading crown, the upper bole sometimes sl. spirally fluted. Bark fawn, slash soft, white, and fibrous. Very large bipinnate leaves with a large swollen pulvinus, the rachis grooved, with 5-6 pairs of pinnae on saplings, leaving prominent scars on stem or twigs when fallen. Leaflets thin, papery; upper surface - matt, laterals just visible; lower surface glaucous, laterals just visible. Pods spirally dehiscent, dark brown with a pale creamy-yellow endocarp visible when dehisced, the pillar-box red seeds remaining attached to valves.

The flowers are faintly scented like orange blossom; the pods have bright red seeds. Leaves bipinnate; 2-6 opposite pairs of pinnae, each with 8-21 leaflets on short stalks; alternate leaflets 2-2.5 x 3 cm, oval-oblong, with an asymmetric base and blunt apex, dull green on topside and blue-green underside; leaves turn yellow with age. Flowers borne in narrow spikelike racemes, 12-15 cm long, at branch ends; flowers small, creamy yellow, fragrant; each flower star shaped with 5 petals, connate at the base, and having 10 prominent stamen-bearing anthers tipped with minute glands. Pods long and narrow, 15-22 x 2 cm with slight constrictions between seeds, dark brown, turning black upon ripening, leathery, curve and twist upon dehiscence to reveal 8-12 hard-coated, showy seeds, 7.5-9 mm in diameter, lens shaped, vivid scarlet; seeds adhere to pod. Ripened pods remain on the tree for long periods, sometimes until the following spring. Chicken eyes (Adenanthera bicolor), another species of Adenanthera native to Sri Lanka. The seeds are similar to Circassian seeds except they have a black spot at one end., making them like Abrus.

Habit: Tree

Flowers: Flower Color: pale yellow

Images:

Distribution

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Range and Population

Native: .

Habitat

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Adenanthera pavonina prefers neutral to slightly acidic soils but will grow on a variety of soils in moist and seasonally moist tropical climates. It is common throughout the lowland tropics up to 300-400 m. Optimal plant growth occurs in areas with precipitation ranging between 3000-5000 mm.

Biome

coastland, disturbed areas, natural forest

Ecology

Adenanthera pavonina invades intact, undisturbed hardwood forests as well as disturbed sites and can quickly form large colonies.

Reproduction

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A. pavonina reproduces by seed, trees produce large quantities of seed.

Duration: Perennial

Growth

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Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 10b, 11. (map)

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Adenanthera:

There are approximately 34 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus: A. abrosperma · A. abrosperma var. falcata · A. aglaosperma · A. bicolor · A. borneensis · A. circinalis · A. forbesii · A. pavonina · A. glauca · A. intermedia · A. kostermansii · A. macrocarpa · A. malayana · A. malayana andersonii · A. malayana malayana · A. malayana subsp. andersonii · A. mantaroa · A. marina · A. microsperma (Agati Petite Feuille) · A. microsperma var. luteosemiralis · A. novo-guineensis · A. novoguineensis · A. oudhensis · A. pavonia · A. pavonina (Acacia Coral) · A. pavonina var. microsperma · A. pavonina var. pavonina · A. peregrina · A. polita · A. scandens · A. tamarindifolia · A. terminalis · A. triphysa · A. viscosus

Bibliography

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  • Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature. (Ency WTimber)
  • Dale,I.R. 1953 A descriptive list of the introduced trees of Uganda
  • Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980–. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. (F Ceylon)
  • Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage. (Zander ed13)
  • Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984–. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim. (F Bhutan)
  • Howard, R. 1974–1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. (F LAnt) [introd.].
  • Isely, D. 1973. Leguminosae of the United States: I. Subfamily Mimosoideae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25(1):74.
  • Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. (Hortus 3)
  • Maesen, L. J. G. van der & Sadikin Somaatmadja, eds. 1989. Pulses. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). (Pl Res SEAs) 1:83. [mentions].
  • Mansfeld, R. 1959. Die Kulturpflanze, Beiheft 2. (Mansfeld)
  • Nielsen, I. & P. Guinet. 1992. Synopsis of Adenanthera (Leguminosae - Mimosoideae). Nordic J. Bot. 12:110.
  • Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk, (PIER).
  • Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. (Dict Rehm)
  • Smith, A. C. 1979–1991. Flora vitiensis nova. (F Viti)
  • Smitinand, T. & K. Larsen, eds. 1970–. Flora of Thailand. (F Thailand)
  • Verdcourt, B. 1979. A manual of New Guinea legumes. (Leg NewGuin)
  • Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds. (Invasive Pl Spec)
  • Whitmore, T. C., ed. 1972–. Tree flora of Malaya. (Trees Malaya)

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors:

  • Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 11, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 12 providers.
  • ILDIS World Database of LegumesNov 10, 2005.
  • The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Jan 19, 2007.
  • USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (April 25, 2008)

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

Identifiers:

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Last Revised: May 11, 2008