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Hernandia bivalvis (Grease Nut) - A tall shrub to small tree to 25 feet tall with gray bark and a compact crown of 3 to 6 inch long ovate shiny green leaves. A monecious species (male and female flowers on the same plant) that flowers in with spring produceds terminal panicles holding 3 cream-yellow colored flowers, 1 stalkess female and 2 stalked males, that are surround by fleshy cream colored bracts that later enlarge, deepen in color to a red orange, and cover the developing fruit in late summer to early fall.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally. It is drought deciduous, so tolerant of drier conditions but looks better with irrigation and also tolerates light frost though ultimate cold tolerance is not well documented. This is an attractive plant that is useful as a shady canopy with attractive flowers and decorative fleshy orange red fruit that hangs on long on the tree and is attractive even when dropped to the ground.
Hernandia bivalvis is in its own family the Hernandiaceae, which is closely related to the Laurel Family (Lauraceae) in the order Laurales. This species grows naturally in dry rainforest and vine scrub on shallow soils around Brisbane and near Biggenden in eastern Queensland, Australia. It was once a more common species, growing on the banks of the Brisbane River and its tributaries, but is now listed as rare. The name for the genus honors the 16th century Spanish physician and naturalist Francisco Hernández de Toledo with the specific epithet from the Latin words 'bis', meaning "two" and 'valvae', meaning "leaves of a door" or "valves" in reference to the two colorful overlapping bracts which surround the seed. The common name Grease Nut refers to the edible seed which contains up to 65% oil - these were roasted and eaten by Australian Aboriginal people, who called it Cudgerie. The colorful bracts were also used for making a dye. The name Shitwood listed in some references is from greasy wood that was used for brakes on horse drawn vehicles. Huntington Botanic Garden curator Kathy Musial notes that a more attractive common name that might help sell this attractive tree would be "Orange Hearts" to describe the colorful fruit. Our plants grown from seed received from the Huntington Botanic Garden.
This information about Hernandia bivalvis displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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