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Adenanthera pavonina

(Boir Noir a Graines Rouges)

Overview

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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

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Acacia Coral, Agati, Agati Petite Feuille, Arbre … glise, Bead Tree, Boir Noir a Graines Rouges, Boir Noir a La Graine, Boir Noir De Bourbon, Boir Noir Rouge, Bois Noir De Bourbon, Bois Noir Rouge, Bois Noir … Graines Rouges, Bois Noir … La Graine, Circassian Bean, Circassian Seed, Colales, Corail V‚g‚tale, Coral Bean Tree, Coral Tree, Coral Wood, Coralitos, Coralwood, Culalis, Curly Bean, Deleite, Delicia, Dilmawi, False Wili Wili, False Wiliwili, Graine-R‚glisse, Jumbi Bead, Kaikes, Kolales, Kulales, Kulalis, L'glise, La'aulopa, Lagati, Lera, Lerendamu, Lopa, Paina, Peacock Flower-Fence, Peacock Tree, Peon¡a, Peon¡a Extranjera, Pitipitio, Pomea, Popoa, Red Bead Tree, Red Beadtree, Red Sandalwood, Red Sandalwood Tree, Red Sandalwood-Tree, Red Sandlewood, Redbeadtree, R‚glisse, Sandalwood-Tree, Telengtúngd, Telentundalel, Vaivai, Vaivai Ni Vavalagi, Vaivainivavalangi

Common Names in French:

Bois De Condori

Common Names in German:

Condoribaum, Indischer Korallenbaum

Common Names in Kosraean:

Metekem, Metkam, Metkem, Mwetkwem

Common Names in Malagasy:

Bonaramena, Conori, Kafe Bonara, Oeil De Paon

Common Names in Portuguese:

Carolina, Falso-Sândalo, Olho-De-Pavão, Segavé

Common Names in Spanish:

árbol Del Coral

Description

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Family Mimosaceae

The Mimosaceae are mostly tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs comprising about 40 genera and 2,000 species. The leaves are nearly always alternate, stipulate , and bipinnately compound (rarely once-pinnate) They usually have swollen petiole bases called pulvini that commonly function in orientation of the leaves (remember the sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica). The inflorescence is commonly a capitulum (also called a head ). The flowers are hypogynous to slightly perigynous, have radial symmetry, petals that are valvate in bud, and commonly a 5-parted calyx and corolla. The stamens are distinct to strongly monadelphous , numerous (rarely as few as 10), and are generally more showy than the perianth. The pistil is simple , comprising a single style and stigma, and a superior ovary with 2-many marginal ovules in a solitary locule. The fruit is usually a legume. -- Gerald Carr

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]

Physical Description

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

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 15-20' tall.

Habitat

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.

Biology

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Reproduction

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

Duration: Perennial

Growth

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

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

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Adenanthera

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 36 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

A. abrosperma · A. abrosperma var. falcata · A. aglaosperma · A. bicolor · A. bonplandiana · A. borneensis · A. chrysostachys · A. circinalis · A. falcata · A. falcataria · A. forbesii · A. pavonina · A. intermedia · A. kostermansii · A. macrocarpa · A. malayana · A. malayana andersonii · A. malayana malayana · A. malayana subsp. andersonii · A. mantaroa · A. marina · A. microsperma (Bois Noir Â… Graines Rouges) · A. novo-guineensis · A. novoguineensis · A. oudhensis · A. pavonia · A. pavonina (Bois Noir … Graines Rouges) · A. pavonina var. microsperma (Petit Feuille) · A. pavonina var. pavonina (Boir Noir a Graines Rouges) · A. peregrina · A. polita · A. scandens · A. tamarindifolia · A. terminalis · A. tetraptera · A. triphysa

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

Identifiers

Last Revised: 7/1/2009