Beach Apricot Tree

This is a small and slow growing tree from Madagascar, reaching up to 10 m tall, but usually staying around 5 or 6 - taking several years...Read More to reach that size.

It has oposite, deep green, shiny and leathery leaves. The flowers are axilar, and quite different from anything I have seen. Common flowers have a whorl of sepals, another of petals, another of stamens and the ovarium. This one has 2 whorls of 4 sepals each: the outher ones are linear and bronze, the inner ones are broad, fimbriated, green and leathery. The petals are 8 white, membranaceous, erect structures forming a cone around the short stamens and ovarium.

The fruit is yellow, of the size of a golf ball, with a thick peel and a soft pulp involving 1-4 shiny brown seeds. This pulp is edible, and tastes and feels like banana.

The Beach Apricot Tree thrives near the sea, going well either on salty and white sand-based soils, or rich organic ones. It likes both sun or partial shade, regular watering and high temperatures. Great tree for some shade, even though it takes time to grow large enough to give this shade. It has a white sap that can cause skin irritations. It droped in my eye when I was young, and it wasn´t a pleasing sensation, so be careful.