The tree grows to tall, with an upright, symmetrical crown and horizontal branches. Terminalia catappa has corky, light fruit that are dispersed by water. The seed within the fruit is edible when fully ripe, tasting almost like almond. As the tree gets older, its crown becomes more flattened to form a spreading, vase shape. Its branches are distinctively arranged in tiers. The leaves are large, long and broad, ovoid, glossy dark green, and leathery. They are dry-season deciduous; before falling, they turn pinkish-reddish or yellow-brown, due to pigments such as violaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The trees are monoecious, with distinct male and female flowers on the same tree. Both are in diameter, white to greenish, inconspicuous with no petals; they are produced on axillary or terminal spikes. The fruit is a drupe long and broad, green at first, then yellow and finally red when ripe, containing a single seed. Pollens size is ~30 microns. The species' epithet is based on the Malay nameKetapang.
Habitat and range
The tree has been spread widely by humans, so the native range is uncertain. It has long been naturalised in a broad belt extending from Africa to northern Australia and New Guinea through southeast Asia and Micronesia into the Indian subcontinent. More recently, the plant has been introduced to parts of the Americas. Until the mid-20th century, the tree had been used extensively in Brazilian urban landscaping, since being a rare case tropical deciduous, their fallen leaves would give a "European" flair to the street. This practice is currently abolished, and the "amendoeiras" are being replaced by native, evergreen trees.
Cultivation and uses
T. catappa is widely grown in tropical regions of the world as an ornamental tree, grown for the deep shade its large leaves provide. The fruit is edible, tasting slightly acidic. The wood is red and solid, and has high water resistance; it has been used in Polynesia for making canoes. In Tamil, almond is known as nattuvadumai. The leaves contain several flavonoids, several tannins, saponines and phytosterols. Due to this chemical richness, the leaves are used in different herbal medicines for various purposes. For instance in Taiwan, fallen leaves are used as an herb to treat liver diseases. In Suriname, an herbal tea made from the leaves has been prescribed against dysentery and diarrhea. The leaves may contain agents for prevention of cancers and antioxidants, as well as anticlastogenic characteristics. Extracts of have shown activity against Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine -resistant and CQ-sensitive strains. Keeping the leaves in an aquarium may lower the pH and heavy-metal content of the water. It has been used in this way by fish breeders for many years, and is active against some parasites and bacterial pathogens. It is also believed to help prevent fungus forming on the eggs of the fish.
