Erythrina zeyheri

Erythrina zeyheri, commonly known as the ploughbreaker, is a deciduous, geoxylic subshrub and member of the family Fabaceae.^[1][2] It is endemic to southern Africa. It grows no more than 60 cm tall^[3] and occurs naturally in the higher elevation grasslands of South Africa's central plateau, and that of adjacent Lesotho.^[4] They favour deep clay soil in the vicinity of creeks and marshes, and often form colonies.^[3] Its specific name commemorates the 19th century botanist, Karl Zeyher.

Ploughbreaker
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Erythrina
Species:	E. zeyheri
Binomial name
Erythrina zeyheri Harv.
Synonyms[1]
Corallodendron zeyheri (Harv.) Kuntze

Description

It is a geoxylic plant, sometimes called an "underground tree",^[5] that produces annual stems, some 50 to 60 cm long.^[6] It has glabrous, leathery, trifoliolate leaves with large leaflets. The rachis and main leaf venation, which are prominently raised below, are armed with recurved spines on both leaf surfaces.^[7] The petioles and stems are likewise armed to discourage browsers. The shoots and leaves are deciduous, dying away during harsh highveld winters,^[3] when the plant survives as an extensive woody, tuberous rootstock.

The upright inflorescences appear in summer, with the leaves,^[6] from October to January.^[3] The drooping scarlet, or rarely white flowers,^[7] are capped by a red calyxes. Their fruit are smooth black pods when mature, each containing a few large (1.0 to 1.7 cm long) seeds.^[6] These are hard and orange-red in colour.^[3][7]

Foodplant

It is a foodplant for the moth Terastia margaritis.^[8]

Gallery

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  Abaxial leaf surface armed with recurved spines on main veins
• 
  The perennial tuberous rootstock
• 
  Green pods and seed