Seeds

Santalum sp. (Santalaceae) Location: India The only information on the label for this specimen is ‘Santalum sp.’; there are no collection details to aid identification to species level. It may be Santalum album, commonly known as aromatic sandalwood. This semiparasitic tree grows to 8 m (26 ft) in height and is famed for its fragrant…

Araujia sericifera (Apocynaceae) Location: RBGE Cultivated This evergreen climber is native to Brazil and Argentina. It produces white or pale pink bell-shaped flowers, which are pollinated by moths, bees, and butterflies. The insects often die after becoming trapped in the flowers, hence one of the common names ‘cruel plant’. The fruit contains a multitude of…

Ceiba sp. (Malvaceae) Location: Peru Ceiba is a genus of trees growing throughout the tropical Americas. They usually exceed 30 m (100 ft) in height. In preColombian Central America, the Mayan civilization revered the Ceiba as the ‘World Tree’: the roots existing in the underworld, the trunk in our middle world, and the branches reaching…

Raphia hookeri (Arecaceae) Location: Republic of the Congo These palms grow to a height of about 10 m (33 ft). They are cultivated in villages across West and Central Africa and also occur in vast stands in swamps. When an individual tree has reached the right stage of development, men climb to the top of…

Proboscidea louisianica subsp. fragrans (Martyniaceae) Location: United States This herbaceous plant is named for the two curved horns on its fruit, one on each half. The genus name, Proboscidea, derives from the word ‘proboscis’ and recalls the elongated mouthparts of certain species of insect. The common name, ‘Devil’s claw,’ is self-explanatory. Each fruit contains about…

Aristolochia sp. (Aristolochiaceae) Location: United States The Aristolochiaceae are a family of herbaceous or woody climbers or shrubs. Both the family name (Greek for ‘best for childbirth’) and the common name (‘birthworts’) refer to the fact that, from the classical to the late medieval period, women drank the juice from the stems to stimulate uterine…

Pterocymbium tinctorium (Malvaceae) Location: Malaysia This is a large tree growing up to 50 m (164 ft) tall, often with a silvery smooth bark with warty projections. The distinctive shape of the fruit gives the genus its name, Pterocymbium (Greek for ‘winged boot’). The wing of the fruit is red on the outside and green-golden…

Firmiana malayana (Malvaceae) Location: Malaysia This species is recorded from Sumatra, Java, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. ‘Cow’s eyes’ is the translation of its Malay name, matu lembu. When in flower, and later in fruit, the tree loses its leaves. This results in a spectacular display of bright orange flowers on bare branches. The flowers are…

Trapa natans var. bispinosa (Lythraceae) Location: India The fruit of the water chestnut is edible. As a useful source of starch and fat, it can be dried and ground into flour. It is therefore widely cultivated in the tropics and in India it is called singhara. It also has the name ‘water caltrops’, because its…

Adenocarpus complicatus (Fabaceae) Location: Madeira This specimen comes from an attractive broom-like shrub native to the Mediterranean region and with many occurrences in the Iberian Peninsula as well as records from north Africa and Turkey. It typically occurs in open forest and scrubland. A profusion of bright yellow pea-like flowers are followed by fruits that…