$49.00 ($29.00-$49.00 choose a size)
Also known as the Sea Almond or Tropical Almond, it is common throughout SE Asia, growing wild as well as cultivated for its striking features and tasty nut. A deciduous tree it can shed its leaves twice a year. In Autumn the leaves turn into colours of red, copper, gold. This tree has a characteristic pagoda shape because it sends out a single stem from the top center. When the single stem reaches a good height, it sends out several horizontal branches. It can get very large reaching 30m in ideal conditions. The fruits are almond-shaped and green turning brown to purple when ripe. The fibrous shell surrounds an edible nut. This shell helps the fruit to float as the seed is dispersed by water. The nuts are edible, taste very much like almonds, although it can be a challenge to remove the flesh from the hard stone. The Sea Almond can be eaten raw. Oil extracted from the dried nuts is edible and used in cooking. Recommended for Tropical climates as it is cold sensitive, but is wind, salt and drought tolerant.