FREE: Chilean Palo Verde 5 Seeds

The listing, Chilean Palo Verde 5 Seeds has ended.

Chilean palo verde Geoffroea decorticans, the chañar, kumbaru, or Chilean palo verde (green wood), is a small deciduous tree, up to 8 meters (25 ft) tall that inhabits most arid forests (montes or espinales) of southern South America. The chañar is cold and drought deciduous; it loses its leaves in winter, and possibly in summer if conditions get too dry. As trees mature the trunks and branches take on a sculptural quality with long longitudinal, irregular ridges and valleys. Along with this undulating trunk, large flakes of the bark peel off or decorticate The peeling tan to brown bark is eventually shed revealing the dark green, "immature" trunk beneath. The contrasting colors and textures created by this puzzle-piece pattern make the tree visually fascinating.
The flowers are very visible, small, papery and yellow. The tree flowers in spring, either singly or in clusters. Geoffroea decorticans is unique among legumes in that it produces fleshy, oval pods that hold a single seed. Fruit are initially green but turn deep orange as they mature.
In Chile, G. decorticans grows in USDA climate zones 8b to 10, Hardy at least to 15°F (-10°C) . The seeds and fruit, being edible, are valued as human and animal feed, and the yellow wood is suitable for carpentry and furniture making once dry. It is also used as fuel and to make cheap posts for fences. The fruits are very commonly used for both culinary and medical purposes in the processed form of chañar arrope. Extremely sweet, dark and thick, this is very similar to honey or vegetable molasses and is used in their place. It is locally known to alleviate sore throats and coughing.