Characteristics
A tree that loses its leaves. It grows about 12 m tall. The trunk is bottle shaped and swollen. There are thick branches at the top of the swollen trunk. The crown is round. The bark is smooth and there are ridges upwards and wrinkles across. It has cone shaped spines. The leaves are alternate and shaped like fingers on a hand. They have 5 lobes and teeth along the edge. The flowers are large and occur singly. They are creamy white with a few purple specks. They are 15 cm long. The fruit is a large capsule that is oblong and green. It splits open to reveal black seeds in white fibres. The trunk stores water.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
tree
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
deciduous
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
-
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
c3
|
Environment
It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in seasonally dry woodlands. In Argentina it grows between 400-1,200 m above sea level.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
|
Usage
The tender leaf buds are eaten as a vegetable. The seeds are eaten. The inner part of the unripe fruit is eaten.
Cultivation
| Mode |
-
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
Home