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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Pachira aquatica''
| image = Pachira aquatica2.jpg
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malvales]]
| familia = [[Bombacaceae]]
| genus = ''Pachira''
| species = '''''P. aquatica'''''
| binomial = ''Pachira aquatica''
| binomial_authority = [[Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet|Aublet]]
}}
'''''Pachira aquatica''''' (synonyms: ''Pachira macrocarpa'', ''Bombax macrocarpum'', ''Carolinea macrocarpa'', ''Bombax glabrum'') is a tropical wetland tree which is known by the common names '''[[Malabar]] [[chestnut]]''', '''[[Guiana]] chestnut''', '''provision tree''', and '''saba nut'''. It is native to [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], where it grows in swamps.
==Characteristics==
''Pachira aquatica'' can grow up to 18 [[meter]]s in height in the wild. It has shiny green [[palmate]] leaves and smooth green [[bark]]. Its showy flowers have long, narrow [[petal]]s that open like a banana peel to reveal hairlike yellowish orange [[stamen]]s. The tree is cultivated for its edible [[nut]]s which grow in a very large, woody pod. The nuts are light brown, striped with white. They are said to taste like [[peanut]]s, and can be eaten raw or cooked or ground into a flour to make bread. The leaves and flowers are also edible.
The tree grows well as a tropical [[ornamental plant|ornamental]] in moist, frost-free areas, and can be started from seed or cutting.
==Role in East Asian culture==
In [[East Asia]], ''Pachira aquatica'' ({{zh-cpl|c=馬拉巴栗|p=''Mǎlābā lì''|l=Malabar chestnut}}) is often referred to as the "'''money tree'''" (發財樹 ''fācái shù''). The tree had long been popular as an [[ornamental plant|ornamental]] in [[Japan]]. In 1986, a [[Taiwan]]ese [[truck driver]] first cultivated five small trees in a single [[flowerpot]] with their [[trunk (botany)|trunk]]s [[braid]]ed. The popularity of these ornamentals took off in Japan and later much of the rest of East Asia. They are [[symbolism|symbolically]] associated with good financial fortune and are typically seen in [[business]]es, sometimes with red ribbons or other auspicious ornamentation attached. The trees play an important role in Taiwan's agricultural export economy with exports of [[New Taiwan dollar|NT$]]250 million ([[United States dollar|US$]]7 million) in 2005. <ref><small>[http://english.www.gov.tw/TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?recordid=92685 "Fancy take on money trees puts Taiwan on the map."] ''Taiwan Headlines'' reprint from ''[[Liberty Times]]''. [[23 March]] 2006. Accessed [[10 February]] 2007.</small></ref>
==Notes==
<references />
==References==
* [http://english.www.gov.tw//TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?categid=11&recordid=91217 "Class effort gives Taiwan world leadership in 'money tree' exports."] ''Taiwan Headlines'' reprint from ''[[United Daily News]]''. [[9 February]] 2006. Accessed [[10 February]] 2007.
* [http://english.www.gov.tw/TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?recordid=92685 "Fancy take on money trees puts Taiwan on the map."] ''Taiwan Headlines'' reprint from ''[[Liberty Times]]''. [[23 March]] 2006. Accessed [[10 February]] 2007.
* [http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/malabar.html "Malabar Chestnut"] at California Rare Fruit Growers Fruit Facts
* [http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/pach_aqu.cfm "''Pachira aquatica''"] at FloriData
* Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2005). ''Food Plants of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, Inc. ISBN 0-88192-743-0
==See also==
*[[Jade plant]], also referred to as "money tree"
[[Category:Bombacaceae]]
[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
[[Category:Trees of Central America]]
[[Category:Trees of South America]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Pachira aquatica''
| image = Pachira aquatica2.jpg
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Malvales]]
| familia = [[Bombacaceae]]
| genus = ''Pachira''
| species = '''''P. aquatica'''''
| binomial = ''Pachira aquatica''
| binomial_authority = [[Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet|Aublet]]
}}
'''''Pachira aquatica''''' (synonyms: ''Pachira macrocarpa'', ''Bombax macrocarpum'', ''Carolinea macrocarpa'', ''Bombax glabrum'') is a tropical wetland tree which is known by the common names '''[[Malabar]] [[chestnut]]''', '''[[Guiana]] chestnut''', '''provision tree''', and '''saba nut'''. It is native to [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], where it grows in swamps.
==Characteristics==
''Pachira aquatica'' can grow up to 18 [[meter]]s in height in the wild. It has shiny green [[palmate]] leaves and smooth green [[bark]]. Its showy flowers have long, narrow [[petal]]s that open like a banana peel to reveal hairlike yellowish orange [[stamen]]s. The tree is cultivated for its edible [[nut]]s which grow in a very large, woody pod. The nuts are light brown, striped with white. They are said to taste like [[peanut]]s, and can be eaten raw or cooked or ground into a flour to make bread. The leaves and flowers are also edible.
The tree grows well as a tropical [[ornamental plant|ornamental]] in moist, frost-free areas, and can be started from seed or cutting.
==Role in East Asian culture==
In [[East Asia]], ''Pachira aquatica'' ({{zh-cpl|c=馬拉巴栗|p=''Mǎlābā lì''|l=Malabar chestnut}}) is often referred to as the "'''money tree'''" (發財樹 ''fācái shù''). The tree had long been popular as an [[ornamental plant|ornamental]] in [[Japan]]. In 1986, a [[Taiwan]]ese [[truck driver]] first cultivated five small trees in a single [[flowerpot]] with their [[trunk (botany)|trunk]]s [[braid]]ed. The popularity of these ornamentals took off in Japan and later much of the rest of East Asia. They are [[symbolism|symbolically]] associated with good financial fortune and are typically seen in [[business]]es, sometimes with red ribbons or other auspicious ornamentation attached. The trees play an important role in Taiwan's agricultural export economy with exports of [[New Taiwan dollar|NT$]]250 million ([[United States dollar|US$]]7 million) in 2005. <ref><small>[http://english.www.gov.tw/TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?recordid=92685 "Fancy take on money trees puts Taiwan on the map."] ''Taiwan Headlines'' reprint from ''[[Liberty Times]]''. [[23 March]] 2006. Accessed [[10 February]] 2007.</small></ref>
==Notes==
<references />
==References==
* [http://english.www.gov.tw//TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?categid=11&recordid=91217 "Class effort gives Taiwan world leadership in 'money tree' exports."] ''Taiwan Headlines'' reprint from ''[[United Daily News]]''. [[9 February]] 2006. Accessed [[10 February]] 2007.
* [http://english.www.gov.tw/TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?recordid=92685 "Fancy take on money trees puts Taiwan on the map."] ''Taiwan Headlines'' reprint from ''[[Liberty Times]]''. [[23 March]] 2006. Accessed [[10 February]] 2007.
* [http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/malabar.html "Malabar Chestnut"] at California Rare Fruit Growers Fruit Facts
* [http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/pach_aqu.cfm "''Pachira aquatica''"] at FloriData
* Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2005). ''Food Plants of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, Inc. ISBN 0-88192-743-0
==See also==
*[[Jade plant]], also referred to as "money tree"
[[Category:Bombacaceae]]
[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
[[Category:Trees of Central America]]
[[Category:Trees of South America]]
