Java Almond (Sterculia foetida) fruiting right now

[fruitlovers]

These trees are full of pods right now and the bright red pods and blue seeds put on quite a show. The seeds are very tasty with high oil content.

[stuartdaly88]

Wow really strange and beautiful! Iv seen pics of dry pods before but  I had no idea the pods were such a striking red and so large to go with the strange shape when on the tree!

[Mike T]

http://www.brisrain.webcentral.com.au/01_cms/details_pop.asp?ID=200

Those Sterculia look a lot like the ones I see wild in the bush here. We call them bush peanuts and aboriginal people valued the nuts highly.

[BMc]

The Java almond seems to have a much thicker and waxier rind than the native ones. They are good, but grafting productive ones is probably a good idea for those who want the fruit, as some massive trees only bear lightly. The native ones fruit year round here. I like the really full look of Oscars fruit.

[AnnonAddict]

I bought some five seeds from Oscar just to see how they do and they grow incredibly fast for me. Scarification helps them germinate a lot faster in my experience.

[FloridaGreenMan]

Oscar:
That is one crazy looking fruit/nut! How long did it take to fruit from seed?

 

[fruitlovers]

Oscar:
That is one crazy looking fruit/nut! How long did it take to fruit from seed?

 

These trees have been fruiting for several years now, and they are 12 years old right now, so would estimate they started fruiting when 8 years old. The trees get very tall and the roots buttress. Hard to mow around it. Fast growing, probably largest trees in that orchard. I have 2 trees of Sterculia foetida and 2 of Sterculia urens. Both of the foetida has fruited very heavily but urens so far only lightly.
The pods turn fully brown when dried and will last very long time. Make nice ornaments. These trees are in same family as cacao: Sterculiaceae.

[natsgarden123]

that is so beautiful 

how does the fruit taste?

[gunnar429]

you mentioned they are big trees...think they could be pruned low for a dooryard grower?

[fruitlovers]

you mentioned they are big trees...think they could be pruned low for a dooryard grower?

Yes they could be topped. But not the kind of tree you want to plant on your lawn because you won't be able to mow, also not around any cement, as it buttresses (roots stick up out of the ground).

[buddyguygreen]

I was reading you cant eat the nuts raw, how do you usually prepare them oscar?

[fruitlovers]

I was reading you cant eat the nuts raw, how do you usually prepare them oscar?

There seems to be some disagreement with different sources. I usually roast them. I believe they need to be roasted to be edible, especially if you're going to eat any quantity of them. They have a laxative, purging effect, when eaten raw. That is not a problem once roasted.
Here are some fully ripened pods on the tree. The trees get very full with pods. So much so the seeds can literally rain down on you during a windy day.

[druss]

I might have to add some of these to my collection. Bmc do you know if the light bearing sterculia quadrifida still flower heavily? Mine flowered profusely this year but no seed pods. Also is anyone growing sterculia monosperma?  I have just purchased one of these and wondered what theyre like.

[buddyguygreen]

I was reading you cant eat the nuts raw, how do you usually prepare them oscar?

There seems to be some disagreement with different sources. I usually roast them. I believe they need to be roasted to be edible, especially if you're going to eat any quantity of them. They have a laxative, purging effect, when eaten raw. That is not a problem once roasted.
Here are some fully ripened pods on the tree. The trees get very full with pods. So much so the seeds can literally rain down on you during a windy day.

man thats so cool, i cant wait till mine get like that. Beautiful.

Do you have a picture of your whole tree

[buddyguygreen]

How close do these trees have to be to cross pollinate, Is 2 or 3 miles too far.

[fruitlovers]

How close do these trees have to be to cross pollinate, Is 2 or 3 miles too far.

Not sure what pollinates them. I would think that is too far, unless it is bees.

[BMc]

I might have to add some of these to my collection. Bmc do you know if the light bearing sterculia quadrifida still flower heavily? Mine flowered profusely this year but no seed pods. Also is anyone growing sterculia monosperma?  I have just purchased one of these and wondered what theyre like.

Yeah, they flower incredibly heavily. The whole tree will look like a ball of fuzz. You'll often also get about a million tiny green fruit set, but unless you have a good tree they will often just drop off. Dad has a couple that would be 20m tall and most years he gets nothing from even ones that set heavy juvenile crops. I have one that flowered in its second season, but it's planted on the footpath in terrible conditions, so I'm not really counting on it fruiting much. The upside is that they are tough as old rope. Actually, they are quite useful for making rope from...