If you’ve ever wandered through the eastern parts of South Africa, you might have come across a tough little shrub with bright red flowers and pods covered in sharp spines. That’s Erythrina acanthocarpa, better known as the tamboekie thorn. It’s a member of the pea family and has made itself right at home in provinces like the Eastern Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Its scientific name has a fun origin too: it comes from the Greek words for “thorn” and “fruit,” which makes perfect sense once you’ve seen its spiky seed pods. Like many of its relatives, this plant also helps enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen—just one of the quiet ways it supports the ecosystem around it.
如果你曾經漫步在南非東部，或許會遇到一種生命力頑強的小灌木，它開著鮮紅的花朵，結出的莢果上佈滿了尖刺。這就是南非刺桐。它是豆科植物，在東開普省、自由邦省和誇祖魯-納塔爾省等地都已安家落戶。
它的學名也相當有趣：它源自希臘語中「刺」和「果實」兩個詞，當你看到它帶刺的種子莢時，就會覺得這個名字非常貼切。和許多近緣植物一樣，這種植物也能透過固氮作用來改良土壤──這只是它默默支持周圍生態系的眾多方式之一。
Notes 筆記
- Erythrina acanthocarpa (common name: tamboekie thorn) is a species of Erythrina in the family Fabaceae. It is native to South Africa, where it occurs mainly in the Eastern Cape, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
- The species epithet acanthocarpa derives from the Greek words akanthos (ἄκανθος, meaning “spine” or “thorn”) and karpos (καρπός, meaning “fruit”), referring to its spiny seed pods.
- Erythrina acanthocarpa is a shrubby legume that, like other Erythrina species, forms nitrogen-fixing root nodules.
- 南非刺桐（Erythrina acanthocarpa，俗名：tamboekie thorn）是豆科刺桐屬的一種植物。它原產於南非，主要分佈在東開普省、自由邦省和誇祖魯-納塔爾省。
- 種加詞 acanthocarpa 源自希臘文 akanthos (ἄκανθος, 意為「刺」或「棘」）和 karpos (καρπός, 意為「果實」），指的是其帶刺的種子莢。
- 南非刺桐是一種灌木狀豆科植物，與其他刺桐屬植物一樣，會形成固氮根瘤。
Other Related Posts 其他相關的帖子
- Plant: Naked Coral Tree (Erythrina coralloides) 龍牙花
- Plant: Cockspur coral tree (Erythrina Crista-Galli) 雞冠刺桐
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Erythrina acanthocarpa
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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