Terminalia catappa

Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

Read about Terminalia catappa in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Terminalia catappa, Linn. Tropical Almond. Indian Almond. Myrobalan. Almendro. Amendoeira. Fig. 3787. A tall, stately tree, up to 80 ft. high, with horizontal branches arising from the primary axis in whorls 3-6 ft. apart: bark smooth, brownish gray: lvs. clustered at the ends of the young branchlets, alternate, entire, obovate, obtuse to subacuminate at the apex, attenuate toward the slightly auricled base, 6-12 in. long, 3-6 in. broad, coriaceous, glabrous above, very finely pubescent below, venation slightly raised on both surfaces but most prominent below; petiole stout, under 1 in. long, flattened above, rusty-pubescent: fls. whitish, upper ones staminate and lower ones perfect, in finely pubescent spikes up to 6 in. long; calyx-segms. acute, slightly concave, valvate in bud, finely pubescent; filaments subulate, inserted upon the hairy disk; anthers cordate: fr. broadly oval in outline, elliptical and winged in transverse section, 1 1/2 - 2 in. long, indehiscent, greenish or reddish, glabrous, with a firm, fleshy exocarp and a hard endocarp inclosing the oblong-elliptical seed; testa membranous, the cotyledons whitish, inrolled spirally. B.M. 3004.—Indigenous to beach forests of the Andaman Isl., but now cult. widely throughout the tropics; Schimper points out that the frs. are adapted for dispersal by ocean currents, the thick husk containing air-cells enabling them to float for a long time. The tropical almond (so-called, but not related to the true almond) is extensively planted in S. Fla., the W. Indies, Cent. and S. Amer., as a street and ornamental tree. Its greatest disadvantage seems to be that it is deciduous during the cold season (shedding its lvs. twice a year in Ceylon, according to Macmillan), but the rich reddish hues assumed by the foliage before falling make it very attractive. There are many fine avenues planted to it throughout the tropics. The nut seems to be much less esteemed in Amer. than in the Orient. Firminger describes it as "of a fine filbert-like flavor, with a crispness like that of a fresh walnut; beyond comparison the most delicious of any kind of nut the country (India) affords." He also states that the kernels, when removed from the husk, are generally served on the table in a plate of water. They yield a valuable oil, resembling almond oil, which is used in India. The tasar silkworm is fed on the lvs., according to Watt. In S. Fla. this is one of the most popular ornamental trees for street and avenue planting. It is not grown in Calif., and is probably too tender for most locations in that state. Prop. seems to be exclusively by seed. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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