The ceibo is the national flower of both Argentina and Uruguay. It is the vivid red flower of Erythrina crista-galli, a South American tree also called the cockspur coral tree.
Argentina adopted the ceibo as its national flower in 1942. Uruguay also recognizes it as a national symbol, reflecting the plant’s natural distribution across the Río de la Plata region. The species grows especially along rivers, streams, wetlands and seasonally flooded lowlands in both countries.
Its red flowers grow in striking clusters, and the tree’s common names vary by region, including seibo, ceibo, gallito and bucaré. The scientific name combines Erythrina, derived from a Greek word for red, with crista-galli, Latin for “rooster’s crest,” an allusion to the flower’s form and colour.
The ceibo is more than a botanical emblem. In Argentina, its selection was connected with popular preference, folklore, poetry and Indigenous legends. A common mistake is to identify the national symbol as a generic coral tree: the canonical answer refers specifically to Erythrina crista-galli.