It provides shade, beauty, and a home for wildlife, making it both practical and ornamental. It is cultivated as an ornamental tree, often planted as a live fence due to its brightly coloured flowers and defensive prickles. The soft, greyish-white wood of Erythrina abyssinica exhibits a shot-silk effect. Although somewhat woolly to work with, it has been traditionally used to craft stools, toys, drums, pestles and fishing net floats. The seeds, often used to decorate trinkets, bracelets and necklaces sold as curios, contain toxic compounds that act similarly to curare, paralysing motor nerves. However, the poison is not easily absorbed through the skin, making handling generally safe. The tree’s stem and roots are harvested for timber and charcoal production, while its leaves serve as fodder for livestock. Additionally, the tree is a source of natural dye.

Beyond its aesthetic and craft applications, Erythrina abyssinica is a versatile and valuable plant with multiple practical and medicinal uses. The stem bark, roots, seeds, leaves and flowers, either individually or in combination, are widely used in herbal medicine to treat numerous ailments. However, the stem bark and roots are the most commonly utilised parts due to their high phytochemical concentration, making them a frequent focus in efficacy, toxicity and antimicrobial studies. Laboratory tests on extracts from these parts have confirmed the presence of antimicrobial compounds, supporting their medicinal applications. Traditional remedies derived from Erythrina abyssinica are prepared using diverse methods, including boiling (decoctions), cold infusions, drying and powdering, topical application and direct chewing. These remedies are used to treat a variety of ailments. Infectious diseases such as malaria, fevers, tuberculosis, bacterial and fungal infections, leprosy, pneumonia and HIV/AIDS are commonly treated with decoctions and cold infusions. Inflammatory conditions like arthritis, eye problems and general pain relief are managed using plant extracts, sometimes mixed with petroleum jelly for topical application. Metabolic disorders, including diabetes, anaemia and obesity, are also treated with decoctions. For skin and soft tissue infections, including wounds, scabies, herpes and ulcers, traditional practitioners often prepare herbal baths or topical pastes. Gastrointestinal issues, such as diarrhoea, stomach aches, constipation, dysentery and colic, are treated using decoctions, sometimes combined with honey or salt. Venereal diseases, including gonorrhoea, syphilis and urinary tract infections, and schistosomiasis, are also addressed with plant extracts. The plant is further used for reproductive health, aiding in infertility treatment, birth control and pregnancy-related conditions. Erythrina abyssinica is also valued as an antidote for poisoning and snake bites. In such cases, the sap is applied directly to the wound or consumed as a boiled extract. Neurological and central nervous system disorders, including epilepsy and convulsions, are treated by pounding the plant material, mixing it with salt, and consuming the preparation.

In livestock and poultry farming, extracts of Erythrina abyssinica are used to manage diseases such as Newcastle disease, anaplasmosis, and helminthosis. Its leaves also serve as a valuable fodder source for cattle and other livestock.