The Alectryon ramiflorus (Isis tamarind) trees in the Botanic Gardens should be in flower now. There are four trees in the Gardens. One of them is so high that I have not seen what sort of flowers it has, from the ground. Of the other three, two are male. One of those actually bore a bunch of female flowers last year and they progressed to fruit, and I am keen to check if that branch has done so again. The female flowers have pretend anthers to attract insects searching for high-protein pollen. They progress to fruit with a bright red aril if pollinated and that fruit is edible. If you choose it at the correct time it is deliciously sweet. Timing is everything of course. I think they have been called ‘tamarinds’ because their foliage, not their fruit is like Tamarindus indica. Peter Brown Location of Isis Tamarinds growing in the Gardens
0 Comments
|
Author
Some highlights of the Gardens Archives
February 2021
Categories |
Friends of Bundaberg Botanic Gardens