A mental escape from quarantine!

Imagine a desert canyon in springtime. Water trickles over bedrock, filling pools and tinajas that will be dry in the coming months, a hummingbird zooms past your head, the sun pleasantly streams down, and there is a sense of buzzing life all around. In these places, we can find coral bean or chilicote (Erythrina flabelliformis) flowering now in a firecracker-like array of bright red tubular flowers on bare stems that will not put on their broad leaves until monsoon rains. Over the summer, this shrub will form legume pods containing their namesake red beans. This species is only found in the southern-most parts of Arizona and New Mexico, but its range extends into the Sierra Madre of northern Mexico and the mountains of Baja California—a reminder of the reach of tropical flora into our region. The red beans are toxic, but beautiful for jewelry making. The bark and stem can be used to treat scorpion stings, fevers, and dysentery. The flowers are loved by hummingbirds and even if we are stuck reading this from our homes, I find it comforting to know that coral bean is out there doing its thing!

--Ashlee

Posted on April 10, 2020 06:06 PM by azscurfpea