Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Ceratonia siliqua - Carob
Edible Portion: Fruit, Leaves, Seeds, Spice
An evergreen tree. It grows 12-15 m tall. It spread to 4 m across. It has a dark green round crown of compound leaves. These almost hide the trunk. The trunk is short, erect and thick. The leaves are leathery. The tree flowers in autumn. Male and female flowers are on separate trees. They grow in flower clusters on the previous year's growth. The flowers are small and red. The pods develop in spring. The flat pods are 30 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. They are thick, brown rough and leathery. The seed are constant in size and were used for the carat weight (200 mg). There are several cultivated varieties.