Crateva religiosa is a tree in the caper family, native to tropical Asia and parts of the South Pacific, and grown for its fruit in parts of Africa. It grows best in a warm, humid tropical climate with regular moisture and a sunny position.
Family
Capparaceae (Cappar family)
Grows as
Tree, Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly while young and during dry spells, and let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings once established.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile loam or sandy loam.
Temperature
20–35 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
China (Guangdong) to Trop. Asia and Pacific
Climate
wet tropical
About
Crateva religiosa, the sacred garlic pear or temple plant, is a species of flowering tree. It is a member of the capers family. The tree is sometimes called the spider tree because the showy flowers bear long, spidery stamens. It is native to much of tropical Asia and several South Pacific islands. It is grown elsewhere for fruit, especially in parts of Africa.
The garlic pear tree is a perennial that can grow up to 15 m (49 ft). The nectar-filled flowers are attractive to a multitude of insects and birds. A pierid butterfly, Hebomoia glaucippe, is a frequent visitor to this plant.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Crateva religiosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.