Where does the cannonball tree grow?
A tangle of flowers arising from the trunk of a cannon ball tree in Grenada. (Photo by Scott A. Mori) I still stand in awe each time I see the cannon ball tree (Couroupita guianensis), a member of the Brazil nut family.
How do you grow couroupita Guianensis?
Plant them in the partial shade, and water them daily until the seedlings are about a foot high. Plant them out in the sun, with plenty of room for them to grow tall and big. If you can’t find any ripe cannonballs, you can just as easily take a woody cutting from the top of the tree and plant it out in the sun.
Can you eat cannonball fruit?
The cannonball fruit is edible, but normally not eaten because of its fragrance and smell.” The tree is known to be used for medicinal purposes. Amazonians use extracts to treat maladies from hypertension, tumors and pains to skin conditions, wounds and toothache.
What is special about Cannonball tree?
cannonball tree, (Couroupita guianensis), tall, soft-wooded tree, of the family Lecythidaceae, native to northeastern South America and notable for its large, spherical woody fruit, which resembles a rusty cannonball. The tree is also cultivated in the southern regions of North America.
Is Cannonball tree poisonous?
The fruit is edible, but is not usually eaten by people because, in contrast to its intensely fragrant flowers, it can have an unpleasant smell. It is fed to livestock such as pigs and domestic fowl. Parts of the plant have been used in traditional medicine.
How long does it take a cannonball tree to flower?
Biennials are also herbs, but, unlike annuals, their growing cycle spans two years: the vegetative (nonreproductive) plant growth takes place from seed during the first year, and flowers and fruit develop during the second.
Is Couroupita guianensis edible?
Couroupita guianensis is planted as an ornamental for its showy, scented flowers, and as a botanical specimen for its interesting fruit. The fruit is edible, but is not usually eaten by people because, in contrast to its intensely fragrant flowers, it can have an unpleasant smell.
Is the cannonball tree poisonous?
Cannonball Tree (Couroupita guianensis) In some jungles of Central and South America, a huge tree bears a fruit that could easily kill a human. The fruit isn’t poisonous, though. In fact, it’s perfectly edible and even has a variety of medicinal properties.
What does cannonball tree fruit taste like?
Cannonball fruits have a distinctly earthy, tart flavor with sour apple, rubber, and musk notes. It takes up to 18 months for the fruits to fully develop, growing on vine-like stems, and the fruits will only ripen when connected to the tree.
What is special about cannonball tree?
What does cannonball fruit smell like?
The ripe flesh has an unpleasant smell.” “Unpleasant smell” is an understatement. The cannonball tree fruit smells like a bloated 2-ton 3-day-dead possum passed gas, causing a tequila-saturated hobo to projectile vomit into an adjacent dumpster filled with rotting cheese and mayonnaise.
How do you grow a cannonball tree?
To help establish your new Cannonball Tree, fertilize sparingly ten inches away from the base, tri-annually with a slow time released product. Unfertilized they will tend to grow at a slower pace. Note: The heavy salts in cheaper fertilizers will damage the roots and possibly kill the plant.
What are the uses of cannonball tree?
Locally the pulp is also used as feed for domestic pigs and chickens. In some Amazonian communities the leaves, flowers, bark, or fruits of the cannonball tree are put to a variety of medicinal uses, including to treat hypertension, tumors, colds, stomachaches, toothaches, and skin conditions.
How long does it take for a cannonball tree grow?
Why is it called Cannonball tree?
Cannonball trees earned their name from their rough, brown, and round fruits, which are similar in appearance to a cannonball. Legend also has it that when the fruits drop to the ground and crack open, they create a loud thud that allegedly sounds like a cannonball dropping.
Is cannonball tree poisonous?