Coral-bean
Erythrina herbacea
Found in maritime forests, dry sandy woodlands, hammocks, longleaf pine sandhills, sandy coastal scrub (TX). FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 6–12 feet
- Spread
- 3–6 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
Space about 4.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 5 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to July
- Fruiting season
- July to September
Recorded in 64 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 79 animals.
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bachman's SparrowAimophila aestivalis
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Erythrina
- Agathodes monstralisSky-Pointing Moth
- Celastrina neglectaSummer Azure
- Condylorrhiza vestigialisThe Alamo Moth
- Cryptothelea gloveriiOrange Bagworm
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Terastia meticulosalisErythrina Borer Moth
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Epicorsia oedipodalis
- Leucoptera erythrinella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Red
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- September
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “6–12 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- primary_flower_color · “red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Coral bean
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications