Naked Coral Tree Blossom
It is now Sunday, and am late for the Fun Friday post on trees, hosted by Melissa. For 8 weeks, we will be featuring trees, and we are now on second week.
Me and the Naked Coral Tree @ Balboa Park
The naked coral tree or flame coral tree ( Erythrina coralloides ) ranges from Arizona to Oaxaca, Mexico. The beautiful red flowers are used as food but its seed are very poisonous. The blooms are typically pollinated by hummingbirds.
Hummingbird Pollinating the Naked Coral Tree Blossom
The long, probing bill of the hummingbird is well-adapted for reaching the liquid nectar at the base of the petals deep inside the tubular corolla.This is probably the most cold tolerant coral tree. They can be propagated by stem cutting or by seedlings. During spring, the tree is bare with red flowers. In the summer, the tree is covered with lush large bright green leaves. At Fall, the green leaves turn into yellow. And in winter, the leaves fall exposing the coral like branches, and probably the best time to prune the tree.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.
♥♥
What a cool looking tree, all bare with red flowers! Great capture of the hummingbird, too. :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos of this very interesting Coral Tree. Love those red flowers.
ReplyDeleteBetchai, what an exciting shot. Amazing details and color and thanks also for the info.
ReplyDeleteJust look at the hummingbird. Flawless...your timing is really good. :)
ReplyDeleteThe hummingbird balanced itself so nice, it reached the liquid nectar while flying in the air.
ReplyDeleteExcellent shot.
Oh Sistah... I love the photo of the hummingbird. Good job on that one.
ReplyDeleteI love the last photo. I am yet to venture into nature photography and thanks for putting my link in your blog.
ReplyDeletenaked indeed, but beautifully naked. great shots Beth! love the one with you @ the centre & the one with the hummingbird. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe red flower of the coral tree does resemble a flame. And you caught a hummingbird right there :)
ReplyDeleteGreat catch on the Hummingbird betchai! :)
ReplyDeleteWho would have known about the naked coral tree? The flowers almost look like the aloe vera.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I am glad Melissa featured TREES.
The smaller branches of this tree species have small thorns on them although these end up wearing off or getting knocked off before too long. As a result the main trunk and branches to not have thorns on them. Another interesting feature of this tree species are its red seeds that are among some of the most beautiful of any tree seeds.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous flower, and that color of red is really vibrant.
ReplyDeleteYour hummingbird photo is just out of this world. Have a great week ahead, my friend!
What an interesting tree, Betchai. I have never heard of it. I love the shot with the hummingbird. We get one or two every now and then, and they are fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous color red, like flame for sure, and interesting info to read..
ReplyDeleteThat is such an amazing looking tree. We don't have anything even remotely like it in our part of the country.
ReplyDeleteHi Bets, I will let you know when our next trip to SD, and maybe we can plan it well.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful the tree Betchai. It's great how you've captured the hummingbird.
ReplyDeletehi betchai...and i see there's a big flower in bloom there in the middle of the tree =)
ReplyDeletethanks for the mother's day greeting
Such a beautiful tree. I really like those red blossoms. I've never seen anything like this.
ReplyDeleteI've always been fascinated with the blossoms and had no idea they were poisonous. Wow, I really like your hummingbird photo. They are not easy to capture!
ReplyDeleteLovely tree and I like the photo with the humming bird. Excellent capture!
ReplyDeletelovely flower and that bird above...great shot.
ReplyDelete