Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Adenanthera pavonina - Bread Tree

Edible portion: Seeds, Nut, Leaves, Vegetable

A deciduous tree up to 7-20 m high. It spreads to 4 m across. It loses many of its leaves during the hot dry season of the year. The stem is erect and slender. The bark is smooth and light brown. The leaves are green and divided twice into leaflets. The whole leaf is 30-45 cm long. The leaf is divided into 3-5 pairs of segments 10-15 cm long. Each is divided again into 10-18 alternate oblong leaflets. These are 1.7-4 cm long by 0.8-2 cm wide. These leaflets are dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are small and white or yellow. They occur at the ends of branches. The fruit is a long (20 cm) dark brown pod with red seeds. The pod twists up as it opens. The seeds are shiny red and hard and 0.7-1 cm across. The pods remain on the tree long after ripening. It is a legume.

A tropical plant. It grows in the tropical lowlands and up to 600 m. It is often planted as a shade and ornamental tree. It also grows wild in the rainforest. It suits humid locations. It prefers well drained soil and an open sunny position. It cannot tolerate drought and in frost tender. It will grow on most soil types. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. In XTBG Yunnan.