Dadap. December tree
Erythrina subumbrans

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

Erythrina subumbrans is a deciduous Tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 20 m (65ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Birds. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Height (m): 20

Where it is found

Moist valleys, near streams, in open locations and secondary forest at low and medium elevations.

E. Asia - China, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Niue, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, SE Asia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Very young leaves are steamed and eaten in salads.

Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.

Medicine

Rating: 2

A decoction of the bark is taken to the treat spleen afflictions. A decoction of the leaves is used as a treatment for coughs. The pounded young leaves are used as a poultice for women soon after giving birth and as a treatment for headache. The juice of the leaves is used as an eye-wash.

Other

Rating: 3

Agroforestry Uses: Grown as a shade tree in cocoa, coffee and tea plantations. It is also used as a shelter crop for taro (Colocasia esculenta) and as live support for yams (Dioscorea spp.), betel nut (Piper betle), pepper (Piper nigrum) and vanilla (Vanilla planivolia) vines. Loppings of the plant provide a quickly decomposing green manure, containing per 100 g dry matter: N 1.5-3 g, P 0.2-0.35 g, K 1-2 g. The tree is planted as a pioneer species in northern Thailand in reforestation projects to restore native woodland - it is planted in degraded woodland and open areas in a mix with various other species that all have the ability to grow fast; produce dense, weed-suppressing crowns; and attract seed-dispersing wildlife, particularly birds and bats. Other Uses The wood is soft, light and coarse-grained, the texture coarse and uneven. The sapwood is not differentiated from the heartwood, which is light straw-coloured. It is utilized in canoe and raft building.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Agroforestry Services: Crop shade: Plants providing crop shade especially trees.

Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.

Agroforestry Services: Living trellis: Plants to physically support other crops.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Agroforestry Services: Crop shade: Plants providing crop shade especially trees.

Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.

Agroforestry Services: Living trellis: Plants to physically support other crops.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

A plant of low to medium elevations in the tropics, where it is usually found at elevations below 1,500 metres. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 500 - 2,000mm and there is a maximum of 4 months with less than 100mm rainfall. The mean annual temperature is above 22°c. The trees are fairly tolerant of wind, unless branches have been damaged by borers. Often grown as an ornamental or to provide shade in plantations, the tree has occasionally escaped from cultivation and become naturalized. It is classified as invasive in some Pacific islands. Thornless forms generally produce fewer flowers and fruit than wild forms which have spines. The cultivated thornless forms may reach an age of 40 - 50 years, but often die earlier because of diseases and pests. Pruning and pollarding are very well tolerated. Where the tree is pruned, it is sometimes used as a medium level shade tree, interplanted with taller shade trees like Paraserianthes falcataria or Grevillea robusta. Elsewhere, it is not pruned and is used for high shade, interplanted with Leucaena leucocephala to provide the low shade. In Western Samoa, yam vines planted in a circle around a tree are allowed to cover the canopy and suppress its growth. The flowers contain large quantities of nectar and are a major source of food for birds during the dry season. The various species of Erythrina can all, as far as is known, be intercrossed to produce fertile hybrids. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Propagating it: Fresh seeds, and those harvested within 3 - 6 months of maturity, can be sown without any special treatment. Germination rates are generally high and are often 100%. Seeds over 6 months old may take between 12 - 18 months to germinate due to their hard seed coat which becomes tougher with age. Soaking them in hot water, or abrading their seedcoat, can reduce this time considerably. They may be added to water which has just fallen below boiling point and left in the water as it cools for a minimum of one hour, but up to 12 hours for seed 3 years or more old, and then sown in the usual way. Alternatively, file the seeds with a slender triangular file. A groove can be made through the sides of the seed coat with care so as to avoid damaging the cotyledons or embryo, which usually results in the death of the seeds from fungal attack or in malformed and weakened seedlings. Seeds of most species produce strong seedlings from healthy seeds in almost any well-drained soil, with a minimum of trouble from damping-off disease. The plant can be propagated by seed, but seeds from thornless trees generally produce trees with thorns. Large cuttings, even if they are 25 cm in diameter, usually root easily.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, the seed, bark and stems of plants in this genus usually contain alkaloids that are toxic in all but small amounts.

It is classified as invasive in some Pacific islands.

Its other names

Local names

Chengkering, Coral tree, Dadap lenga, Dadap lesang, Dadap limit, Dadap lisa, Dadap minyak, Dadap rangrang, Dadap ri, Dadap srep, Dedap batik, Dedap, Dhadhak, Gatae palagi, Pohon dadap rangrang, Tawng lang, Tawng pa, Vong hot-da, Ye-kathit

Synonyms

Corallodendron lithospermum (Blume ex Miq.) Kuntze Erythrina holoserica Kurz Erythrina lithosperma Miq. Erythrina secundiflora Hassk. Erythrina sumatrana Miq. Hypaphorus subumbrans Hassk.