The Elephant-ear tree is the national tree of Costa Rica. This beautiful tree can reach a height of 35 meters and grow a magnificent wide crown of pinnate leaves, which makes it a source of shade in hot countries. After flowering, it takes 9 or 10 months before the first small green pods are visible. Afterwards, these colour brown, roll up and are about 12cm tall. The brown seeds are very graceful with light brown rings, and are often used as jewelry in Costa Rica. They have a hard seed shell and, as far as we know, aren’t been spread by animals. After maturation they fall down next to the tree on the ground and remain there. Perhaps the former seed spreader is nowadays extinct. The species can also be kept as a decorative houseplant.

Sowing description:
Carefully force the seeds with a vise or hammer and then let them soak in lukewarm water for 24 hours. Sow them in sowing mix, keep the soil constantly moist and let them germinate at around 25 degC.

Family: Fabaceae
Scientific name: Enterolobium cyclocarpum
Common name: Elephant-ear tree / Guanacaste / Caro Caro
Native to: Latin America

Sowing time: Whole year
Difficulty: Intermediate
Minimum temperature: 12 degrees Celsius

Photo 1: C.M. Tungol via Flickr
Photo 2: Zoom's Edible Plants (blog)
Photo 3: James Seakley (CCA-3.0 Wikipedia)