# Coral Bean (Erythrina herbacea)

> Spikes of scarlet, tubular flowers on bare stems in spring draw hummingbirds, followed by black pods that split to show red seeds.

Also called Cherokee bean, red cardinal, cardinal-spear, eastern coral bean, Erythrina arborea. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/coral-bean/

![Coral bean (Erythrina herbacea) spikes of scarlet tubular flowers above young green leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/coral-bean-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: gailhampshire, CC BY 2.0, cropped · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACherokee_Bean_%28Erythrina_herbacea%29_%2825203076648%29.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Shrub
- Mature height: 3 to 12 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 10
- Grows wild in: Sandy barrens, the coast, dry uplands, old fields and edges
- Native range: 10 states, north to [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), south to [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL) and west to [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX) ([Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC) and [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX))
- Sun: Full, Part
- Soil moisture: Dry, Average
- Growth rate: Slow
- Flowers: April to July
- Fruit: Pods, July to September
- First crop: 1 year after planting
- Mature spread: 6 ft
- Traits: Showy flowers, Wildlife value, Rare, Winter interest, Drought tolerant, Salt tolerant
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Saplings ship [bare-root](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/planting-bare-root-trees-on-arrival/index.html.md) or [in a pot](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/a-sapling-in-a-pot/index.html.md), [usually 12 to 18 inches tall](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-sapling-or-big-transplant/index.html.md), in the dormant season, and their height and age are stated with the price, once available. Live plants ship February to May and October to November. Not priced yet: leave an email on the web page for one email when it is priced, with a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax, or write to captain@bluewhaletrees.com.

## Notes

Coral bean is a tropical tree that reaches north along the southern coastal plain as a thorny shrub, and at its northern edge as a soft-stemmed perennial. Its scarlet flowers, shaped like slim crescent moons, open on bare stems before the leaves. North Carolina lists it as endangered, and NatureServe ranks it critically imperiled in Arkansas, at the edge of its range. Its split pods, with their bright red seeds, hang on the bare stems through winter. Give it a sunny spot in a hummingbird garden, away from where small children play.

## Size, growth and what to expect

Coral bean grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. Where winters freeze its stems back, it stays a shrub of 3 to 6 feet. Where frost spares it, it grows to 12 feet or more and can become a small tree of 20 to 25 feet. It spreads 3 to 6 feet. Each leaf has three arrowhead-shaped leaflets, often prickly beneath, and the leaves fall in winter.

Spikes up to a foot long of scarlet, tubular flowers open from April into July, before the leaves. Each flower is 1.5 to 2 inches long, its upper petal wrapped around the others. Black pods up to 8.5 inches long ripen from July to September, then split to show bright red seeds that cling for months. Its dense, thorny stems shelter small birds and animals.

It grows wild on the coastal plain from southeastern North Carolina to Florida and west to Texas. Its home is open, sandy woods and clearings, thickets, hammocks, sandhills, flatwoods and coastal dunes, mostly on dry ground.

## How to grow Coral Bean

Coral bean grows in full sun or part shade, in a well-drained sandy, loamy or clay soil. It takes long dry spells and salt spray, but not salt water over its roots. Set plants 6 feet apart and keep them 3 feet from a wall. Keep it back from paths, since the stems carry small thorns. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Wear gloves when you handle the seed, which is poisonous. Scratch or file the hard coat of each seed before you sow it in spring. Store any extra seed sealed and out of children's reach.

Water weekly through the first summer, then only in long droughts. In cold winters the stems die back, and new ones rise from the root in spring. Trim off the dead stem tips once the new growth shows. Wear gloves, since the stems carry spines.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, so there are no male and female plants to pair. Hummingbirds and other long-tongued pollinators visit the flowers. The brittle branches can break in windstorms. The seeds are poisonous if eaten, and children are most at risk.

## Sources

- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Erythrina herbacea](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/erythrina-herbacea/)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Erythrina herbacea](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ERHE4)
- [Florida Native Plant Society: Erythrina herbacea](https://www.fnps.org/plant/erythrina-herbacea)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Erythrina herbacea](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.148191/Erythrina_herbacea)
- [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program: List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina 2024, revised 11/03/2025](https://www.ncnhp.org/media/831/open)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [How fast every tree and shrub we grow gets tall: growth rate, A to Z](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/growth-rates/index.html.md)
- [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md)
- [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md)

## Related

- Trees to plant it under: [Sassafras](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sassafras/index.html.md), [Laurel Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/laurel-oak/index.html.md) and [Redbay](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/redbay/index.html.md)
- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Coral Bean, add ?species=coral-bean with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address; for example, the verdict for zone 6, part sun and average soil as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=coral-bean&zone=6&sun=part&moisture=average
- [Companion species for Coral Bean](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=coral-bean): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate for Coral Bean as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=coral-bean (add height=, years= and site= poor, average or good)
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Coral Bean is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan for it as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=coral-bean (add state= and zone= for your own frost dates, method=fridge for the refrigerator route)
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Coral Bean needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the verdict for 1 of them as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=coral-bean:1
- [Planting-window tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md): when to plant Coral Bean where you live, as a fall and a spring window from the local frost dates; the windows as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=coral-bean&state=MO&zone=6 with your own state and zone in place of those
- [Planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md): how far Coral Bean goes from a house, a septic field, a walk, wires, a property line and the next tree; the distances as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=coral-bean&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Coral Bean flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species; its own row and the gaps of a planting with it as Markdown at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=coral-bean