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Majidea zanguebarica
Also called Black Pearl
In Singapore: Black Pearl Tree (Grown in Singapore)
Velvet seed (Majidea zanguebarica) is a small, rounded tree from East Africa, prized for its glossy leaves and striking black seeds shown in split red pods. It is grown mainly in frost-free gardens or as a container plant that stays smaller indoors.
Majidea zangueberica (also known as the mgambo tree, black pearl tree or velvet seed tree) is a small tree of the family Sapindaceae. The tree is native to East Africa and grows up to 5 metres (16 ft) tall.
The seeds are often used in artisan jewelry and the dried pods in flower arrangements, the composition of bouquets and decorative potpourri.
[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 Majidea zanguebarica 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.
