Japanese name: アメリカデイコ（亜米利加梯梧） Scientific name:Erythrina crista-galli
[Overview]
A deciduous tree about 6 m tall, with sharp thorns on the branches.
The leaves are spirally alternate and compound, consisting of 3 leaflets. The terminal leaflet is lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, but leaf shape varies.
Racemes 50–70 cm long are produced at the branch tips. The flowers are yellowish red and inverted, with the large standard petal facing downward; the wing petals are small and inconspicuous. The standard petal is ovate and about 5 cm long.
The pods are 10–20 cm long and constricted. The seeds are brown with black markings.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, cuttings, layering or root cuttings. It prefers moderately moist ground. Plant it in a sunny place sheltered from north winds.
Among the Deiko group it is relatively cold-hardy, but near Tokyo the previous year's branches often die back. Cut back the current year's branches shallowly, then cut back again just before buds break the following spring, and the dieback will not go deep.
