Monkey pot tree

Description

Lecythis minor, the monkey-pot tree, is a small tree with toxic seeds that occurs in South America. Lecythis minor is a small to medium-sized tree that ranges from 5–25 m (16–82 ft) in height and has a 70 cm (28 in) diameter at breast height. Its bark is grey, and is smooth when the tree is young but develops deep vertical fissures as the tree ages. It has ovoid leaves that are about 8.5–24.5 cm (3.3–9.6 in) long and 4.5–10 m (15–33 ft) wide. The leaves are glabrous and coriaceous, with serrated margins. The leaves have 12 to 19 pairs of lateral veins, and the leaf stalks are 5–20 mm (0.20–0.79 in) and puberulous. The flowers of Lecythis minor are arranged on a rachis, being 10–35 cm (3.9–13.8 in) long, and the inflorescences are white to yellow, green while budding. Each rachis has 10 to 75 flowers, and the rachides are pubescent. The fruit of the tree have a distinct cup shape representative of the genus Lecythis, and are spherical with a 7.5–11 mm (0.30–0.43 in) thick pericarp. The seeds are reddish-brown and fusiform, and contain toxic amounts of selenium. The seeds tolerate a very low pH.