Malabar chestnut, Guiana chestnut, water chestnut, provision tree, saba nut, money tree, money plant;


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Pachira insignis; .. (1 reply, 4 pictures, 16.12.10); 

at Kolkata botanical garden Dec 2010. This tree has been labelled as Pachira insignis and I think it is right


Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi page with images on Pachira aquatica


Malvaceae week :: Pachira insignis:  Pachira insignis Family :Malvaceae earlier Bombacaceae.
Guiana Chestnut or Malabar chestnut native of Mexico.


Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi thread with images on Pachira aquatic


Pachira insignis
Kolkata


Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi page with images on Pachira aquatica


    

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Taken at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, Sri Lanka on the
17th of November. .. It was a large tree.

This is Pachira insignis Family : Bombacaceae. Guiana Chestnut or Malabar chestnut native of Mexico.
Refer my recent post from Kolkata bot. garden.


Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi page with images on Pachira aquatica 


Thanks … I will do the necessary corrections.

 

 

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Interesting tree at Kolkata botanical garden.  The flowers are attractive…
These digital pics are from June of last year… but I have been looking at this tree for a long time now….
Family:                Malvaceae
Subfamily:                      Bombacoideae
Genus                                     Pachira
Species                                        Pachira insignis (Sw.) Savigny
Native of Guyana.  
Uses in India not known… sometime sold as houseplants but they do not survive any kinda cold or damp weather inside apartment…

Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi thread with images on Pachira aquatica


This tree had a label put up by the Kolkata Botanical Garden officials (do not know when, i took these  pictures in JUNE 2007)
It reads Pachira insignis SAVIGN. origin Mexico enclosing the picture  i took in 2007 with the same set that i sent in earlier.

BUT PLANTS OF BOTANICAL GARDEN book by Choudhery and Dubey show this same tree on page 376 as Pachira aquatica. Book is published by BSI in September 2007. Dr Choudhery lives in retirement in Uttarakhand … most likely Dehradun now, may be he can be contacted and he can resolve why the tree label and his label in the book do not match?
The reason I know its this same tree because of the HABIT picture they have and although is very dark but the outline of the back buttress and its higher level and shape matches the one i have.
I have are the same… since the trunk has formed a unique buttress and I am including that picture.  Its a unique base and I use it as a marker for my botanical garden companions to remember and meet me there when we venture off to different directions..  Once you see it you cant forget it.
WHAT I DONOT KNOW IS when did the author of the big book reclassify the tree or if there is a newer label now? I have not photographed the label recently.
Now may be after this scorching heat wave is over I’ll go over and see.

Pachira always is troublesome  …but this is what i have to go with the officer at the KolBotG are professionals in Botany.

Pachira aquatica i have and photographed in souther california its leaves are somewhat different shaped thah this.
I cant really elaborate further.
I did not use any ruler etc. and did not take off leaves or flowers from the tree in Kolkata or california… so there i am. at a stand-still as of now. Attachments (2)

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Pachira species for ID – 180414 – RK 1 : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (2).

Lalbagh, Bangalore – 13th April,2014..
I have gone through the discussion on this young tree which I think is wrongly labelled as Pachira saithifolia. Though it has been id’d as P.aquatica the pic I found on Wikipedia does not look the same. Please check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachira_aquatica
Looks remarkably like the Shaving Brush Tree – Pseudobombax ellipticum.
Would appreciate correct ID!


It is Pachira insignis according to me and not Pseudobombax where the sepals are totally rolled out in the form of ribbons when the flower is in full bloom. The stamens of which are also uniformly coloured whereas here they are partially coloured.
I think these Pachira trees were brought by Britishers and planted in all the major gardens in India including those in Kolkata Mumbai Bengaluru and Pune


Thank you, … I too felt it could be P.insignis. Waiting for the tree to fruit now!
I have seen Pseudobombax ellipticum a few years back in Lalbagh – magnificent specimen – but termite-ridden. Of course it collapsed soon after !


Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi thread with images on Pachira aquatica


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PACHIRA INSIGNIS : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (4).  

Attaching four images of Pachira insignis (MALABAR CHESTNUT) at different stages. I took the first image of the fruit in June and in September the fruit was as big as coconut. The nuts are edible (I tried it.).


Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi page with images on Pachira aquatica


Thank you very much sir.


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IDENTITY:25/26: Attaching two images of a road side tree (probably planted by forest dept). First image is of the leaves and a bud. Next image is of a flower. I saw this tree earlier and thought it to be some species of Ceiba. When I saw the flowers today (for the first time), I thought these must not be of this tree. The flowers have some resemblance with those of Pterospermum acerifolium. The have sweet smell. Some time in 1979 I saw this flower under a tree in the Botanic Grden at Sibpur (Near Calcutta). I don’t know the identity of this tree. Please help.


This is Pachira insignis.
I have seen this in Kolkata Bot. garden.
Bombacaceae
Rightly thought by you as Ceiba which shares its family.


… is right
there are two specimen in the sibpur garden, one by one of the lakes in the back (labelled Dewan lake in their map) in Meghalaya and Mizoram section of the garden,
This is also a popular houseplant with braided stems exported from Taiwan. … had shown some pics I think a couple of years ago from USA.

Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi thread with images on Pachira aquatica


Thank you very much sir.


link 1 takes you to pachira glabra



 

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PACHIRA INSIGNES : 5 posts by 5 authors. Attachments (3).

Attaching three images of Pachira insignes. This is an introduced species at this place. I am observing this tree for almost nine years, and this is the first time I saw the fruits.


Thank you … for the interesting post. Never seen this tree.


Where have you observed this Kolkata Bot. garden?


Pachira aquatica as per link1 & link 2 & efi page with images on Pachira aquatica


Thank you very much sir.


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Trees of Lalbagh, Bangalore – Pachira aquatica – Fortune Tree: Lalbagh, Bangalore

Pachira aquatica can grow up to 18 m (59.1 ft) in height in the wild. It has shiny green palmate leaves with lanceolate leaflets and smooth green bark. Its showy flowers have long, narrow petals that open like a banana peel to reveal hairlike yellowish orange stamens.

The tree is cultivated for its edible nuts which grow in a very large, woody pod. The nuts are light brown, striped with white. They are said to taste like peanuts, and can be eaten raw or cooked or ground into a flour to make bread. The leaves and flowers are also edible.

The tree grows well as a tropical ornamental in moist, frost-free areas, and can be started from seed or cutting. It is a durable plant and will adapt very well to different conditions. The pachira needs plenty of sunlight though it is important to avoid direct sunlight during the summer months as the leaves may get sunburned.


Nice to see this plant in Bangalore
I had posted same species from Kolkata botanical garden which was flowering in the month of Dec 2010. Same season last year.


 
Please help ID tree species: Please help me id the tree with the attached pictures. The pictures have some flowers, buds and tree. The bud is pretty long, almost 5 inches.


It looks like a Pachira species of Malvaceae (previously in Bombacaceae). Where did you find this tree …?


Thanks for the ID. I saw this in a local nursery in Bangalore. He had planted 2 of these few years back in his nursery. I was trying to ID it and determine its habit to see if I can plant this in our community. Is this Pseudobombax ellipticum or “Pachira aquatica“?
Any info in the growth habit of this? How tall does it grow, canopy size, growing requirements? Is this a native tree?


It looks like Pachira aquatica to me. It is native to America; commonly planted in gardens.
“…It is an extremely adaptable, fast growing, ornamental, evergreen nut tree to a height of 7m with a spread of 3m…” http://www.greenharvest.com.au/Plants/Information/MalabarChestnut.html
Some links for more details…
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=250009201
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachira_aquatica
http://www.homeandgardenideas.com/gardening/plants/care/how-care-pachira-tree
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/malabar.html


In case this is Pachira aquatica (it looks lot like it) then read on….
And it develops large buttresses, may be not as large as the Kapok tree from the Amazon jungles, but large enough… so about 20 feet must be left around the base and more at the top the canopy gets to be twice at least of the base in width, it prefers to be by a river bank or a lakeside…
And Its also sold as the money tree in pots in USA and Japan as a three trunk entwined houseplant, some people make “Bonsai” out of it.. google Money tree and then again for bonsai money tree… you will be amazed what crops up in the images selection button…
it made a lot of money for the taiwanese chinese company that popularized the three stem entwined nursery trade of this plant… and the small traders and shops that sold them retail… hence the name money tree... it does not make the end user/home gardner any richer… quite to the contrary… you shell out a pretty penny for it… I think last year … had shown a pic of this during the Malvaceae week … dont quote me, but I think that’s when it happened…
… has shown some pictures… from the Shibpur Botanical garden during the same week…
If you have a lots of ground and airpace, with a water body near by… this is s great tree… to grow to its full glory… but I have seen one with fruits in a southern california doctor’s garden, with a water body several blocks away… it had fruits too, one or two only though, the seedpods and the seeds are interesting tooo, nutty to taste.. some british group called it Malabar chest nut and that name has stuck too… the reason beats me … dont know why a south american tree be named malabar chest nut? 


Pachira aquatica : Confirm ID : Lalbagh,Bangalore : 210413 : AK : Attachments (5). 11 posts by 6 authors.

Pachira aquatica?

Pictures taken on 16/3/13.
Name plate suggests Pachira saithifolia.
Kindly confirm the correct id.


This should be Pachira insignis.


Thanks for validation & appreciation.
The same tree I suppose, … has posted as Pachira aquatica.
How do you differentiate between the two?
You had earlier identified my picture from Peradeniya as the same.


I had seen two different Pachira trees few years back in Dec in Kolkata Bot. Garden. I believed the name boards there to be correct. Therefore I had posted both the plants on the group accordingly.
There appears to be a lot of confusion in names of different Pachiras.
I found an interesting discussion with photographs on the website
Botany photo of the day.
Copying some relevant things below.
In “Brazilian fruits and cultivated exotics” ( Harri Lorenzi, Luis Bacher and others) from the Instituto Plantarum, they clearly dichotomize these into white flower, green pod = Bombacopsis glabra, syn. Pachira glabra and red flower, brown pod = Pachira aquatica, syn. Bombax aquaticum, B. macrocarpum, B. rigidifolium, Carolinea macrocarpa and Pachira pustilifera.
Now I think the labels of my plants posted may be wrong.

Interesting and confusing too…………………………..


Adding a fruit seen yesterday on the same tree.

There were quite a few flowers too. Saw the fruit for the first time.
Attachments (3)


Saw another fruit yesterday which was completely visible.

Attachments (1)


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TSP-MAY-2016-11-340: Images of Pachira aquatica (Malvaceae) : 18 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (4)

It is my pleasure to share few images of Pachira aquatica (Malvaceae) The name plate reads as Pachira saithifolia, but it is listed as Pachira aquatica in efi pages.

Ref: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/indiantreepix/U8qUnspl2wU 

Habit: Tree 

Habitat: Cultivated 

Sighting: Lalbagh gardens, Bangalore, Karnataka, about 900 msl 

Date: 08-03-2016


nice. we have never really found this particular name… i literatyre on the net. some confusion remains. This same tree was presented here by Aarti Khale and Satish Phade presented one also. can you tell us if run into a published reference to this particular name ..p.saithifolia ??


Thanks …. I share your thoughts on its nomenclature. I did not find the name ‘saithifolia’ except on the name plate that was nailed to the tree…!


The same flower I have photographed in Kolkata botanical garden says it as Pachira insignis.
These Pachiras have been brought and planted by Britishers. There is some confusion in names though.
These trees are luckily thriving in most botanical gardens.


As per link:
Pachira aquatica (Guiana chestnut, Malabar chestnut, provision tree, or sabanut) has white, cream, or greenish petals, with stamens that are basally white or yellow, and reddish apically. The fruit is dark brown and tomentose, about 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) long.  Seeds are angular and large, about 1.5-2 inches (4-5 cm) long. Pachira insignis has thick orange or dark brown petals with whitish or orange red stamens and a dark brown, rounded fruit.
I think same is repeated in this book link.
In view, it should be Pachira aquatica. I hope my reading of the post & the link is correct. If someone feels otherwise, pl. let me know. I will also look into other threads in efi & correct them accordingly after your feedback. 
Members are requested to correct their threads accordingly.


The petals here do look red orange. Those of P. aqauatica will be perfect white as in mu earlier pictures from Kolkata. This is what I think.


Thanks, …, for the feedback.
I think you are talking about Pachira glabra as posted by … & as per the given link where differences are mentioned.
Pl. see the picture of Pachira aquatica at the given link by me where differences are mentioned.
Also see the link given by you in one of the threads: Botany photo of the day


Attaching four images of Pachira insignis. Please correct me if I am wrong. Attachments (4)


As per link:
Pachira aquatica (Guiana chestnut, Malabar chestnut, provision tree, or sabanut) has white, cream, or greenish petals, with stamens that are basally white or yellow, and reddish apically. The fruit is dark brown and tomentose, about 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) long.  Seeds are angular and large, about 1.5-2 inches (4-5 cm) long. Pachira insignis has thick orange or dark brown petals with whitish or orange red stamens and a dark brown, rounded fruit.
I think same is repeated in this book link.
In view, it should be Pachira aquatica.


Pachira will always remain puzzle to me. So much mix up on various websites.

By the way my belief of above species still remains as Pachira insignis. Pachira aquatica according to me is far far more white coloured petals.
I am not sure what is correct.
… where have you captured this tree from?


Thanks, …, Till now I was passively adding species as posted by members. But now I have to go by the keys & differences provided from reliable sources as given earlier.


I hope somebody throws some light on the name Pachira saithifolia.The name plate on this particular tree bears that name.Could it be an error…?? 


It seems to be misprinted badly.


Thanks … I will notify the LBG authorities.


Name plates written on trees even at important places are at times misleading. I had an experience in Indian Botanic Garden, Kolkata. I brought it to the notice of BSI (that was in 1984), but my next visit has not put me wiser. Things have not changed much. It speaks about attitude of people.

 

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Ornamental Tree for ID, Hyderabad, Telangana NAW-MAR19-04 : 5 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (1)
Kindly help identify this ornamental tree photographed in Hyderabad, Telangana in March 2019. Not my photograph.


I hope Pachira aquatica


most likely though picture of the base of the tree large buttresses or if the tree is young brownish bark and expanding base would help in id. a native of tropical countries in the Americas. its cultivated in many places on this earth. we have several in the Shibpur Botanical garden. If i remember correctly … has shown us a tree in Bloom from there


 

 
In a garden at Vapi, Gujarat– June’09?; in Botanical garden of Kolkata on 4th Dec 2010;

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Pachira Saithifolia (as pertag ) Lalbagh : 8 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (8)

I am posting after a long time. 

I have fully shifted to Bangalore from Delhi and I found these nice Flowers to post today which I saw first time.
Pachira Saithifolia as per the board. I have read another thread here about the board being wrong. 
Location Lalbagh Bangalore 
Date 28 Nov 2019


Other recipients:
https://sujnaturelover.wordpress.com/tag/pachira-saithifolia/ ?? Thank you. Saroj Kasaju

That is a nice Blog Post about Lalbagh


that s just a blog of a Lady who is a journalist i think. its her sojourn thru Lalbagh that particular day.. she found one flower, and the label i guess, not a scientific blog. she is just repeating what s on the label i think. i read her blog once in a while. she has interesting write ups listed. its not P. saithifolia.
its pachira aquatica as shown. lalbagh has a labelling issue/problem for some trees/plants over the years

yes. nice but not scientific


I guess you are right …!


Other recipients:
Superb photographs1 Awesome! I tried for the photos of flowers several times during my visits to Bangalore. But I missed out. Thanks for posting.
Superb photographs1 Awesome!  I tried for the photos of  flowers several times during my visits to Bangalore. But I missed out. Thanks for posting.

  

References: