Sterculia apetala (Jacq.) H.Karst.

Tree up to 30-40 m. high, the trunk straight, thick and often with prominently developed buttresses, the crown broad and dense. Leaves simple, large, the petiole 8-24 cm. long, stellate-villous, the blade deeply 3-to 5-palmatilobate, the broad lobes rounded to subacute, deeply cordate at the base, up to 22 cm. long and 40 cm. wide, membranous, the upper surface glabrous except near the base of the 5 main nerves, the lower surface stellate-arachnoid when young, promptly glabres-cent, the nerves slightly prominent beneath. Inflorescences axillary or subterminal, paniculate, the axes densely stellate-vi llous-arachnoid. Flowers hermaphrodite or staminate, the pedicel 1-2 cm. long; calyx campanulate, 5-lobate, 1.5-2 cm. long and 1.5-2.5 cm. wide, often somewhat larger in the hermaphrodite flowers than in the staminate ones, the lobes triangular, acute and ca. 0.7-1.2 cm. long, reddish-brown, densely puberulous and with tufted hairs outside, greenish-yellow, striped-red or maroon and glabrous inside; gonophore of the staminate flowers slender, arcuate, inflexed, ca. 1-1.2 cm. long, scatteringly papillate, sometimes loosely stellate-puberulous toward the base, the staminal tube pendulous, somewhat thicker than the gonophore, ca. 1 mm. long and densely covered with short simple hairs, the anthers 15, ca. 0.75 mm. long, the rudimentar ovary ca. 0.75 mm. broad and glabrous; gonophore of the hermaphrodite flowers like in the staminate ones but only 6-8 mm. long, the staminal tube very short, the anthers 15, around the base of the ovary and ca. 0.75 mm. long, the ovary subglobose, 5-sulcate, ca. 0.4 mm. in diam., stellate-tomentellous, 5-locular, the styles reflexed, ca. 4 mm. long and stellate-tomentellous, the stigma obscurely 5-lobulate. Follicles obovoid, ca. 6 cm. long and 4 cm. thick, tomentellous outside, the inner surface covered with a dense layer of erect, stiff, yellowish and ca. 2 mm. long prickly hairs, 2-to 4-seeded; seeds oblong-ellipsoid, ca. 2 cm. long and 1.1-1.3 cm. in diam., the testa brown or black, covered with stiff, little adhesive, prickly hairs.

A tropical plant. It is native to C and S America. It grows in dry forests and woodlands in the Amazon in Brazil. In Central America it grows from sea level to 1,000 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. It grows well alongside rivers. In Townsville palmetum.

The almond flavoured seeds are eaten raw or roasted or fried. The roasted and ground seeds are mixed with water to form a drink. The fruit are also eaten. The seeds are also used in place of cola nuts.

Plants are grown from seed. The seed are removed from ripe fruit. Putting the fruit in the sun helps them open. Seeds only remain viable for about 60 days. Fresh seed should be planted. Seeds germinate in 20-30 days. Seedlings can be transplanted into the field in 5 months.