The Erythrina Abyssinica can be found in Africa, Asia and America. It comprises of a 120 species, a deciduous tree (annual leave shedding), fast growing, short and stout reaching a height of about 10 meters. You can find them in woodlands, grasslands and forests.
Photo was taken in the beginning of autumn (April)
This tree is suitable for the tropical areas with a high rainfall, it thrives in temperatures ranging between 10-30 degrees Celsius, well-drained clayey soil with a pH of 3.5-6.5 on plateaus and slopes.
The bark is thick and corky with a rounded crown; leaves are 3-foloplate, long and prickly; flowers are scarlet red, cylindrical and split at one side; it has fruit pods of 3-12cm long.
They use this tree mostly as a living fence as it can produce a canopy of about 3.5 meters in diameter in less than a year. It is also used for soil conservation, erosion control and green manure. The dried-out fruit they use for necklaces; the bark as a textile dye; the wood for drums, carvings, floats for fishing nets and also firewood.
Photo was taken end of winter (August)
It has many uses as a medicinal plant and each part of this tree can be used. The fruit: are used to treat asthma and meningitis; flowers: used to treat dysentery and earache; leaves: for peptic ulcers and diarrhea; bark: to treat snake bites, malaria, liver inflammation and measles.
Sources:
http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Erythrina+abyssinica
http://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Erythrina_abyssinica_(PROTA)
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/plants/fabaceae/erythrina_abyssinica.htm