The Extravagant Monkey Pod Tree
Posted on Jul 08, 2011 under Big Island Trees |The graceful monkey pod tree adds beauty to our roadsides, shade to our parks, food for our livestock, and nitrogen to our soil. Though often the bane of gardeners due to the mess it creates, it is an easily grown and adaptable tree that can tolerate long periods of drought as well as much rainfall. Its broad crown needs a lot of space to spread out to its full potential.
The monkey pod tree has a variety of uses and is most commonly used for its durable timber. Its large trunk makes it suitable for making furniture, and its simple grain makes it easy to carve items such as Hawaiian tikis and wooden bowls. Dried monkey pod seeds are often used to make jewelry and various decorative pieces. Monkey pod trees are considered ecologically friendly since they grow fast and can therefore be replaced quickly after harvesting.
Monkey pod trees produce some two dozen puff-like pink flowers with long red and white stamens. The flower center contains nectar that attracts pollinating insects and birds. Fruit formed from pollination consists of lumpy, ridged seed pods that grow four to eight inches in length. These seeds, along with the accompanying sticky pulp inside the pods, are edible and have a sweet, licorice-type flavor. And, like licorice, the astringent-like seeds are known by some to relieve a sore throat when chewed in small amounts. Monkey pod seed pods are a nutritious feed for cattle.
Monkey pods line the Waikoloa Beach Drive median
At night monkey pod tree leaves close and curl up, allowing any rain that falls to hit the ground more easily. This keeps grass and vegetation under the tree green even in times of drought. The tree’s foliage, pods and flowers contain a substantial amount of nitrogen which, when dispersed into the soil, helps plants make the necessary chlorophyll that keeps them green. For these and other reasons the monkey pod tree is widely known as the rain tree.
The tree got the name of monkey pod from one of its scientific names, Pithecellobium, which means “monkey eating” in Greek. Monkeys enjoy eating the tree’s sweet pods and are often seen congregating on its branches. Native to Central and South America, the tree is now widespread throughout the tropics including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Florida. It thrives in seasonally dry tropical climates but, with the exception of frost, adapts to a variety of temperatures and can withstand long periods of dryness or heavy rainfall.
Old monkey pod trees can grow to 200 feet in height, and their crowns grow to about 100 feet in diameter. Their wide canopies make them ideal shade trees along streets, in parking lots, on farms, or in parks. Their space requirements make them unsuitable for homes or urban landscapes. A monkey pod tree lives an average of 80 to 100 years.
