Coast Coral Tree vs Moluccan Flying Fox

Erythrina caffra compared with Pteropus chrysoproctus

Key Differences

Coast Coral Tree is Least Concern while Moluccan Flying Fox is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coast Coral Tree	Moluccan Flying Fox
Kingdom	Plantae (растения)	Animalia (животные)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (магнолиофиты)	Chordata (хордовые)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (млекопитающие)
Order	Fabales (бобовоцветные)	Chiroptera (рукокрылые)
Family	Fabaceae	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)
Genus	Erythrina	Pteropus (Flying Foxes)
Species	Erythrina caffra	Pteropus chrysoproctus

Conservation Status

Coast Coral Tree

LC — Least Concern

Moluccan Flying Fox

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coast Coral Tree	Moluccan Flying Fox
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coast Coral Tree

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

Moluccan Flying Fox

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Coast Coral Tree

Coast coral tree (Erythrina caffra) is a large, semi-deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to the subtropical coastal forests and riparian zones of the eastern coast of South Africa and coastal Mozambique. It grows in coastal dune forest, riverine forest margins, and rocky hillsides near the sea, often becoming a prominent canopy tree in coastal forest. The trunk is covered in distinctive corky, spiny bark; branches are armed with short thorns; and spectacular clusters of bright red, tubular flowers are produced before or with the new leaves in late winter and spring, providing an important nectar source for sunbirds and other nectarivores. Fruit pods are long, woody, and contain bright red seeds. Coast coral tree is widely planted as a street tree, shade tree, and garden specimen across subtropical coastal cities and is the official tree of Durban, South Africa. It is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Historically, various parts of the tree were used medicinally by Zulu and Xhosa communities. In cultivation it has naturalised in Hawaii and other tropical regions.