Fried-egg-tree (Oncoba spinosa)

Product description

This species makes white flowers with numerous yellow stamens in the center, and is therefore a.o. in Zimbabwe called the ‘fried-egg-tree’. In South Africa the tree is better known as the ‘snuff-box-tree’(snuifkalbassie), because the fruits have a very hard skin that is often used as tobacco-boxes. If the fruit are left to dry with the seeds inside they it make amusing rattles for children and are also used as anklets and armlets for dancers to add rhythm when performing. The tree can grow up to a maximum of 5 meters, and can in temperate climates be grown as a container plant at a minimum temperature of -5 degC. The plant blooms 3 months a year.

Sowing description: Soak the seeds for 48 hours in lukewarm water and sow them in sowing mix. Keep the soil constantly moist, cover with plastic foil or glass, and let the seeds germinate at a warm spot.