Content
- Trumpet Tree - fruits have a high ornamental value, but are poisonous
- Trumpet tree has many names
- The fruits are not edible
- Fruits contain many seeds
- Tips
The fruits of the trumpet tree look chic and can be used for propagation
Trumpet Tree - fruits have a high ornamental value, but are poisonous
Large, up to 20 centimeters long leaves, showy flowers very similar to orchids and a very sprawling growth habit with dense crown: The originating from the southeastern United States trumpet tree is, especially in old age, a very impressive appearance and thus a highlight in any garden , Its fruits, which are formed by the tree in autumn and which remain on the mother plant throughout the winter, also contribute to this.
Trumpet tree has many names
The bean-shaped capsule fruits - which are also legumes - can be up to 40 centimeters long, but are only a maximum of five to seven millimeters long. They gradually develop after the flowering season, whereby the flowers of the trumpet tree are hermaphroditic and thus can fertilize themselves. The fertilization takes place mainly by bees, bumblebees and other insects, which are attracted by the delicate floral scent and here find a richly covered table. The initially green fruits remain hanging on the tree throughout the winter, only to open to seed maturity in the following spring. Due to its bean-like fruit capsules, the trumpet tree also bears the nicknames "bean tree" or "cigar tree".
The fruits are not edible
However, despite their similarity to nutritious legumes, the fruits of the trumpet tree are not edible but inedible and even slightly poisonous. An (accidental) consumption can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting, but does not lead to death. Dangerous is only the confusion with the highly poisonous angel trumpet, which is sometimes also sold under the name "trumpet tree". Furthermore, the deadly poisonous Golden Rains are nicknamed "bean tree" and also have similar-looking seed pods - the fruits of both plant species, in contrast to those of the trumpet tree, highly toxic and can have fatal consequences.
Fruits contain many seeds
However, they can use the fruits of the trumpet tree to propagate them, because especially after long and very warm summers, the capsules contain numerous seeds. These are up to 2.5 millimeters long, flattened and furred hairy at both ends. Ideally, you will leave the seed-bearing fruits on the tree during the winter and harvest them as soon as they turn brown in spring. Then the seeds can be collected and sown, they are very germ-friendly.
Tips
But in some years you may also be unlucky because the fruits contain no seeds. In such a case, the trumpet tree can also proliferate well over cuttings.