Medicinal
Guiana Chestnut
Pachira aquatica Aubl.
FamilyMalvaceae
EspañolCastaño de agua
AlsoMalabar chestnut, Money tree, Water chestnut, French peanut
A tree of wet lowland forest and riverbanks, growing to about 20 m in the wild, with glossy palmate leaves of five to nine leaflets. It bears large solitary flowers with cream petals and a brush of 200–250 red-tipped stamens that open for a single night, followed by big woody capsules holding edible seeds. Small braided specimens are sold worldwide as the 'money tree' houseplant.
Sourced · see Record tab Least Concern · IUCN
Worth knowingThe 'money tree' name comes from a folk tale about a poor man who grew wealthy selling the tree's nuts; the braided-stem houseplant form originated in Taiwan in the 1980s as a way of 'locking in' luck.
2on the estate
0carrying a tag
0sponsored
| Tag | Garden area | Zone | Planted | Status | Sponsored | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Ravine Entrance | — | 5 July 2019 | Planted | — | |
| — | Muruga Circle Exit | — | 5 July 2019 | Planted | — |
2 of these have no tag yet; they will be numbered when the garden team re-tags the estate.