Acnistus arborescens, Gallinero seeds

Acnistus arborescens seeds

Achnistus arborescens is also known as gallinero and belongs to the family of the Solanaceae, the nightshades. A. arborescens is native to South- and Centralamerica, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. The evergreen tree reaches a height of 6 to 10m and its trunk gets up to 15cm in diameter. The alternate leaves are simple, elliptic or lanceolate. They can get are 5 to 30 cm long and 3 to 14 cm wide. The flowers bloom sporadic over the year. They are greenish whitish even blue to purple and are clustered in groups of about 30 flowers near the leaves.

The small bright orange fruits which reach maximum 1 cm in diameter are inedible for humans. Birds and bats like the fruits very much they disperse the seeds by eating the fruits. A. arborescens is a popular ornamental plant also for the reason that it attracts different insects and birds. A. arborescens is used in medicine. An extract made out of the leaves is said to be good for cancer patients. The fruits include the small, flat yellow seeds that get just 2mm long.

Cultivation
A. arborescens should stand on a warm and light place (23°C or more). The seeds should be covered slightly with some soil and sand. They should be kept moist all the time but not wet.