Australian Chestnut
Castanospermum australe
Summary
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiospermae
Class: Equisetopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae Genus: Castanospermum
Species: Castanospermum australe
Scientific Name: Castanospermum australe A.Cunn. & C.Fraser
Common names
English: Australian Chestnut, Moreton Bay chestnut or Blackbean)
Hindi:
Marathi: Australian Palash
Sanskrit
Description
Flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the east coast of Australia in Queensland and New South Wales, and to the Pacific islands of Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and the island of New Britain (Papua New Guinea).
Native to Australia, as the name indicates, Australian Chestnut is a large evergreen tree growing to 40 m tall, though it may be found much smaller. Leaves are 15 X 6-7 cm , pinnate, with 11-15 leaflets. The flowers are red and yellow, 3-4 cm long, borne in racemes 6 cm long. The fruit is a cylindrical pod 12-20 cm long and 4-6 cm diameter. The fruit is divided into 3-5 cells, each of which contains a large chestnut-like seed.
Trees of Empress Botanical Garden - Project supported by