About Erythrina fusca Lour.
Erythrina fusca Lour. is a deciduous tree that has spiny bark and light orange flowers. Its legume pods grow up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, and hold dark brown, buoyant seeds. The buoyancy of these seeds lets them disperse across oceans. This tree is strongly adapted to coastal environments, and can tolerate both flooding and salinity. Like many other species in the genus Erythrina, E. fusca contains toxic alkaloids. These alkaloids have been used for medicinal purposes, but are poisonous when consumed in larger quantities. The most abundant alkaloid found in this species is erythraline, which takes its name from the Erythrina genus. As a food source, the buds and leaves of Erythrina fusca are eaten as a vegetable. In Thailand, where this species is called ทองหลาง, its leaves are commonly used in the dish Miang kham (Thai: เมี่ยงคำ).
