Coral Bean in the Borderlands

About this episode

This episode explores the coral bean plant and its significance in the borderlands of Arizona and New Mexico.

If it wasn’t for the Gadsden Purchase, coral bean or Erythrina flabelliformis wouldn’t be found in southeastern Arizona or southwestern New Mexico and so we are in its northern most range out of Mexico. It has so much to love…amazing bright red flowers on naked branches followed by fan shape green leaves (flabelliformis!) and then the long pods that dry and dehisce and dangle to display the red seed. Seed so hard that I use a file or grinding wheel to break the seed coat so it’ll germinate. It’s in the pea family Fabaceae and the pea family rocks the…

People in this episode

Host: Petey Mesquitey

Topics covered

• botany
• flora
• regional ecology
• plant characteristics
• seed germination

Keywords

• coral bean
• Erythrina flabelliformis
• southeastern Arizona
• southwestern New Mexico
• Fabaceae
• seed germination
• botany

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fabaceae

Products: Erythrina flabelliformis

Places: southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, Mexico

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