Uncarina leptocarpa SEEDS

Uncarina leptocarpa seeds grow into a deciduous pachycaul shrub or small tree endemic to the seasonally dry tropical biome of Madagascar distinguished by its slender, more elongated fruits compared to the broader-fruited members of the genus; the epithet leptocarpa means ‘slender-fruited’. Like all Uncarina, the fruits are armed with grapnel-like curved hooks designed to catch on the fur of large mammals for dispersal a particularly effective strategy in the diverse megafaunal communities in which these plants evolved. The plant develops a massively swollen pachycaul trunk for water storage, bears broad leaves and large yellow flowers in the growing season, and is fully deciduous in the dry season. Family Pedaliaceae.

Full sun, very sharp drainage and a warm, dry rest when leafless replicate the strongly seasonal conditions of its Malagasy habitat.

• Slender, elongated hooked fruits ‘leptocarpa’ = slender-fruited; more elongated than congeners
• Massively swollen pachycaul trunk; broad leaves; large yellow flowers
• Madagascar seasonally dry tropical biome; endemic
• Family Pedaliaceae; grapnel fruits evolved for large mammal dispersal
• Full sun; very sharp drainage; warm dry rest

Uncarina leptocarpa is botanically distinctive for its slender fruit form within a genus celebrated for extraordinary hooked dispersal structures a rewarding collector’s pachycaul from Madagascar’s seasonally dry forests, combining the swollen trunk drama with one of the most unusual fruit morphologies in the family.

IMPORTANT: Pictures show the adult plant, which is not for sale. The offer is only for seeds.