Description

erythrina crista-galli is asmall , the girth of its trunk measuring 50 cm . normally it grows 5-8 meters tall, although some individuals , such as in the argentine provinces of salta , jujuy and tucuman , can grow up to 10m . the ceibo was declared the national flower of argentina by the country executive power on december 23of 1942.

the root is taproot with nodules produced by nitrogen fixing bacteria. the bacteria live in symbiosis with the tree, facilitaing the tree absorption of nitrogen in return for organic substances which the bacteria need. the trees trunk is woody with irregular , spiny branches .these branches form alyer without definite form and die after flowering.

the tree flower in the summer ,from october to april in their native south america and from april to october in the northern hemispher . it usually blooms from november to february the red flower , arranged in inflorescences of the raceme ytpe , is pentameric ,complete ,and of bileteral symmetry . its calyx is gamosepaous , like a little red thimbile . the corolla ,like that of other legumes like common beans, is butterfly -shaped ; the largest petal , called the "stadard". is arranged in the lower part .
the two of petals called"wing" are so small that they are practically hidden within the calyx .
remaining two petals partially fuse toghther on occason and form the flowers keel or "carina";
this protects its reproductive organs . the androecuim consists of ten stamens . one free and nine united by thier filaments (gtnostemenal androecium) .
the uni carpela gynocium is welded the stamens like kinfe in the sheath .
the flower are rich in nectar and get visted by insects , which usually have two crawl underneath the carina and thus pollinate the flowers .

the trees fruit is monocarpic and dry , of the legume type and no more than afew centimeters in length . the chestant -brown seeds are cylidercal form and are arranged sparsely throughout the seedpoods interior .

the seed germ contins hypogeous cotyledons - the seeds stay underground upon germination.

Scientific classification

kingdome : plante

division: magnoliophyta

class: magnoliopsida

subclass: rosidae

(unranked): eurosidas I

ordre: fabales

family: fabaceae

subfamily: faboideae

tribe : phaseoleae

genus; erythrina

species: E . crsta-galli

Erythrina crista-galli (dedab) ,(coral tree)

dedab is aflowering tree in the family fabaceae ,native t argentina,uruguay,brazil and paraguay.
it is widely planted as street or garden tree in other countries ,most notably in california .
it known by sevsral common names within south america :ceibo ,seibo, and the more ambiguous bucare ,to name afew .in english it is often known as the Cockspur coral tree.

The trees flower is the national flower of argentina and uruguay .it is also the official city tree of los angeles , california (where itis referred to simply as THE CORAL TREE.

this species characteristically grows wild in garlley forest ecosystems along water courses ,as well as in swamps and wetlands. in urban setting , it is often planted in parks for its bright red flowers .

pomegranates and symbolism

ISLAM:

according to the quran ,pomegranates grow in the paradise , the quran also mentions pomegranates twice as examples of good things god creates.


CHRISTIANITY:

for the same reasons, pomegranates are a motif found in christian religious decoration. they are often woven into the fabric of vestement and liturgical hangings or wrought in metal work.
in the eastern orthodox church , pomegranates seeds may be used in kolyve adish prepared for memorial services ,as a symbol of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdome.

potential health benefits

in preliminary laboratory research and human pilot studies ,juice of pomegranate was effective in reducing heart disease risk factors, including LDL oxidation , macrophage oxidative status, and foam cell formation all of which are steps in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

pomegranate juice has also been shown to reduce systolic pressure by inhibiting serum angiotensin -converting enzyme , may inhibit viral infection and may have antibactiral effects against dental plaque.

containing polyphenols which inhibit estrogen synthesis , pomegranate seeds oil was effective against proliferation of breast cancer cell in vitro.

culinary use

after opening the pomegranata by scoring it withe a knife and breaking it open, the arils(seed casings) are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes .
separating the red arils is simplified by performing this task in abowl of water wheren arils sink and pulp floats.

the pomegranate juice can be very sweet or sour,but most fruits are moderate in taste, with sour notes from the acidic tannins contained in the aril juice

having begun wide distribution in the USA and canada in 2002, pomegranate juice has been a popular drink in middle eastern and indian cuising where it particularly is used in prepartion of curd rice (telugu:dadhojanam ) and danimma pulihora in andahra pradesh ,india

punica granatum(delima)

is afruit-bearing decidous shrub or small tree groming to between 5 and 8 metres tall

the delima is antive to the region from iran to the himalayas in northren india and has bee cultivated and naturalized over the whole mediterrnean region and the caucasus since ancient times.
it is widly cultivated throughout afghanistan, algeria, armenia, azerbijan,iran, india, pakistan,syria,turkey,the drier parts of southeast asia ,peninsular malaysia,the east india,and tropical africa.
introduced into latin america and california by spanish settelers in 1769, delima is now cultivated in parts of california and arizona for juice production.

in the northern hemisphere ,the fruit is typically in season from septemper to january.
in the southrn hemispher,it is in season from march to may