Cabbage tree
Andira inermis

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

An evergreen tree. It grows 30 m high. The trunk has buttresses. It has a round crown. The leaves are 40 cm long. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. There are 7-13 leaflets. They are oblong. The flowers are pink. They occur in large masses. They are pea like. The fruit is hard and round. It is a legume pod. It is 4 cm across. It is fleshy. It has a single seed.

There are 30 Andira species. Also as Papilionaceae.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It can grow in humid or dry coastal woodland and in swamps and savannah. It is often along rivers. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North America, Pacific, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Singapore, South America, St Lucia, Sudan, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies

How it is used for food

The leaves are used to make a drink. The fruit are eaten. CAUTION: The seeds cause diarrhoea.

Edible parts

Fruit, honey, leaves - drink

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The seeds don't germinate regularly. It can be grown by air layering or cuttings.

Its other names

Local names

Angelin, Bastard Mahogany, Bat seed, Brown heart, Cabbage bark, Ikong-ebonko, Partridgewood, Pohon kol

Synonyms

Andira excelsa Kunth; Andira jamaicensis (W. Wright) Urban; Geoffroya inermis W. Wright; and others