Coast Coral Tree vs Lǎohǔ

Erythrina caffra compared with Panthera tigris

Key Differences

Coast Coral Tree is Least Concern while Lǎohǔ is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coast Coral Tree	Lǎohǔ
Kingdom	Plantae (植物)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (木兰植物门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Magnoliopsida (木兰纲)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Fabales (豆目)	Carnivora (食肉目)
Family	Fabaceae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Erythrina	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Erythrina caffra	Panthera tigris

Conservation Status

Coast Coral Tree

LC — Least Concern

Lǎohǔ

EN — Endangered

Population: ~4.5K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coast Coral Tree	Lǎohǔ
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	20 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	220.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coast Coral Tree

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Taiwan.

Lǎohǔ

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.