Please help ID this one please

[Gaby Chaudry]

Dear all,

on Monday I bought a plant in a supermarket (yes, I admit, I did....) and it had a very informative plate saying: "Green in Greek ceramics" ... Here it is:

they put three plants in the pot, each one growing from a big greenish pip. At first sight I thought "Avocado or Mango", but the plants are different. They have odd-pinnate leaves with 5 to 9 leaflets. The leaflets look a bit like the leaves of a Ficus benjamini, only larger. I looked through all tropical fruit trees with big fruits or nuts, but none of them was similar to my plant....

Can anybody help? Thanks a bunch in advance!!!

Gaby

[madgardener]

At Lowes they are labled Lucky Bean tree's. Erythrina or Coral tree. Yours is E. Caffra or Cape kaffirboom, or Lucky Bean Tree. : Wide spreading, semi-evergreen tree with sometimes prickley branches, and prickly-stalked leaves divided into 3 broadly ovate leaflets, the longest into 3 1/2 inches long. In spring, bears dense, terminal racemes, to six inches long of orange,-scarlet flowers two inches long, with broad, strongly arching standard petals. Can grow in Florida and warmer climates 40-60 foot tall. Not hardy below 41o F. ( I found this in my American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia A-Z and looked under Lucky Bean, which was what I knew it was from your photo) madgardener up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English Mountian in Eastern Tennessee,zone 7, Sunset zone 36

[Gaby Chaudry]

Hi,

first of all thanks a lot for your answer :)

Mmmh, seems that there are various Lucky Bean trees. I have three E. caffra, but they are completely different (nearly triangle-shaped and prickly leaflets and also prickly stems, leaves always consisting of three leaflets). At night, they fold their leaves together, like all other Leguminosae trees I have. My "Lucky Bean Tree" doesn't. But, while googling, I found a picture of "my" plant, unfortunately without scientific name.

Anyway, the hint "Lucky Bean Tree" is quite a good starting point. Will keep on googling.

Thanks!! Gaby