Membership, binarity and metallicity of red giants in the southern open cluster NGC 2354

We present new Coravel radial-velocity observations and photoelectric photometry in the UBV, DDO and Washington systems for a sample of red giant candidates in the field of the intermediate-age open cluster NGC 2354. Photometric membership probabilities show very good agreement with those obtained from Coravel radial velocities. The analysis of the photometric and kinematical data allow us to confirm cluster membership for 9 red giants, one of them being a spectroscopic binary, while 4 confirmed spectroscopic binaries appear to be probable members. We have also discovered 4 spectroscopic binaries not belonging to the cluster. A mean radial velocity of (33.40 +/- 0.27) km s(-1) and a mean reddening E(B - V) = 0.13 +/- 0.03 were derived for the cluster giants. NGC 2354 has a mean ultraviolet excess < delta(U - B) > = -0.03 +/- 0.01, relative to the field K giants, and a mean new cyanogen anomaly Delta CN = -0.035 +/- 0.007, both implying [Fe/H] approximate to -0.3. The moderately metal-poor character of NGC 2354 is confirmed using five different metal abundance indicators of the Washington system. The cluster giant branch is formed by a well defined clump of 7 stars and 4 stars with high membership probabilities seem to define an ascending giant branch. The whole red giant locus cannot be reproduced by any theoretical track.