Hymenaea courbaril

Common Names: Jatobá, West Indian Locust Bean, Courbaril, Guapinol, 孿葉豆, 南美叉葉樹
Scientific Name: Hymenaea courbaril L. [1]
Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Subfamily: Detarioideae) [2]
Natural Distribution: Central to South America, including some Caribbean islands. [3, 4]
Natural Habitat: Tropical rainforest, usually along riverbanks, tropical dry forests, subtropical rainforests and tropical montane forests. [3, 5]
Description: Evergreen tree that can grow to 40m tall. Larger specimens with trunk of around 1m in diameter. Bark whitish and rather smooth. Leaves bifoliate smooth and can grow up to 12 cm long and 7 cm wide. [5]
Flower: Inflorescence terminal. The creamy white flowers are bisexual. The flower has 4 distinct sepals, 5 petals and around 10 stamens. [5]
Seeds: Fruits at about 10 years old in natural environment. [5] Fruit pods are oblong can get more than 10 cm long. Orthodox brown seeds with hard seed coats are about 2cm in length and are surrounded by a creamy and powdery pulp layer. In their native range in the Amazon, the seeds can be dispersed by agoutis and other terrestrial mammals.

In modern society, this hardwood tree is most commonly used as timber, which yields excellent durable wood. In their native range, locals use the gum from this tree. The bark is reported to be used by indigenous Amazonians for medicinal purposes. [5] The pulp is edible raw or cooked and is described as sweetish but powdery.

I was really fortunate to be able to collect the fruits of jatobá. In 2019 January at Meinong Shuangxi Tropical Arboretum in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. A bit of scrambling in the woods allowed me to find some seeds. It appears that the tree does not fruit every year at this location or at least the production varies considerably every year, it may be affected by precipitation levels.

2019/01/05, Hymenaea courbaril sapling near the mother tree at Meinong Shuangxi Tropical Arboretum in Kaohsiung (美濃雙溪樹木園).

Sindora supa

Common Names: Supa/Balayong/Manopo (Various names in the Philippines), 菲律賓白鶴豆/斯帕樹/蘇白豆 (Chinese)
Scientific Name: Sindora supa Merr.
Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Subfamily: Detarioideae)
IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
Natural Distribution: Philippines (Luzon, Mindoro)
Natural Habitat: Low elevation tropical rainforest, tropical limestone forest
Description: Monoecious, deciduous tree up to 20m (some say 30m). Although it is said to be deciduous, I have never seen them shed massive amounts of leaves. Rarely do trunk diametre reach to about 1.5m, and the tree does not form buttresses. Bark can grow up to 1cm thick. The plant grows stipules that are about 1cm (if two combines it forms a heart shape). Paripinnate compound leaf consists of 3-4 sets of leaflets. Each glabrous, elliptical leaflet up to 9cm long and 5cm wide. 
Flower: Axillary or terminal panicle bisexual inflorescence up to 15cm long. 4 sepals, 1 petal, both yellowish green and have long filaments (which will form the spikes of the fruit). Stamens (about 2cm) are pinkish and only about 10. Flowering season around April, fruits usually produced by September. 
Seeds: Seed storage is orthodox. Can store in ambient temperature (preferably low moisture) for 1-2 years without dramatically affecting viability. The mature black seed pods are more or less flat ovate shaped, with numerous spikes (tip of prickles have resins emerging), and can grow up to 5cm long/wide. Each seed pod contains 1-3 seeds. The black, shiny, roughly 1.5cm seed has fleshy arils attached. 

This is a very endangered tree endemic to the Philippines, with decreasing population due to logging and habitat loss. The wood is heavy and is aromatic, it is especially prized for flooring. The tree also yields aromatic yellow oil, and so probably why it is also known as kerosene tree. The oil is also used as folk medicine or as an illuminant. This is a sun-loving tree. There are many local names in the Philippines, but Supa seems to be the commonest way to call this tree.

For Taiwan, this species was first introduced to Kaohsiung City’s Meinong Shuangshi Tropical Viviparous Forest (高雄美濃雙溪熱帶樹木園) by Japanese botanist, Sasaki Shunichi (佐々木舜一) for experimental purposes in 1935. Apparently this species has infiltrated the tropical Queensland rainforest near Cairns, Australia, not sure if it is invasive.

Fruit pod and seed of Sindora supa collected. This photo was taken on 2019/01/07. The seed has already been scarred and left in Sphagnum moss, and then it started to expand (germination) a few days before this photo was taken.

Pterocarpus indicus

Common Names: Burmese Rosewood/Amboyna Wood/Andaman Redwood (English), Narra (Tagalog), Angsana (Malay/Indonesian), Giáng hương mắt chim (Vietnamese), ประดู่บ้าน (Thai), インドシタン (Japanese), 印度紫檀 (Chinese)
Scientific Name: Pterocarpus indicus Willd. [1]
Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Subfamily: Faboideae) [1]
Natural Distribution: South Asia, Indochinese Region, Malesia Region, Papua New Guinea and some Western Pacific Islands
Natural Habitat: Low elevation tropical rainforest and lowland forests near waterbodies.
IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
Description: A tree that can grow up to around 30 metres. The glossy pinnate leaflets are compounded and elliptical in shape. Each leaflet is a little wrinkly along the edges. Tree crown is round and branches can be droopy, larger trees have buttresses. It can exhibit deciduous behaviours in environments that are colder or have seasonal dry periods. It is a relatively fast growing tropical tree and a nitrogen fixing tree.
Flower: The axillary flowers are yellow and last shortly. 
Seeds: Mature seed pods are brown, woody and fibrous in the middle with flattened margins that act like “wings” to help air dispersal of seeds (it is a samara fruit). One seed pod can contain 2-3 seeds. It can take about half a year for the fruit pods to mature. Seeds storage behaviour is orthodox if properly stored, probably intermediate storage behaviour in typical household. The seeds are brownish red and shaped a little like the Japanese Hiragana “he” (へ). 

Pterocarpus indicus is the national tree of the Philippines. The very similar Pterocarpus vidalianus Rolfe is now classified as a synonym of this species (the fruit pod of the Pterocarpus vidalianus has spikes). They are heavily exploited for their timber, but are also common street trees in tropical Asian countries. They are considered to be windbreak trees.

2018/05/19 collected Pterocarpus indicus fruits

Peltophorum pterocarpum

Common Names: Copperwood/Yellow Flame Tree/Copper Pod (English), Jemerlang Laut (Malay), Soga (Indonesian), Lim xẹt (Vietnamese), นนทร (Thai), কনকচূড়া (Bengali), ചരക്കൊന്ന (Malayalam), 盾柱木(Chinese)
Scientific Name: Peltophorum pterocarpum (DC.) K.Heyne [1]
Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae)
Natural Distribution: Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Vietnam, Northeastern Australia, Papua New Guinea [2]
Natural Habitat: Low elevation Tropical Forest, also found near coastal regions
Description: Evergreen tree  (probably a subcanopy tree in the natural habitat) that can grow up to around 20 metres. Leaves are compounded. Leaflets can reach 20 cm. Mature trees usually display umbrella-like tree crowns.
Flower: The tree has terminal or axillary inflorescence, with flamboyant yellow flowers around June (Summer in Northern Hemisphere).
Seeds: One mature brown pod (mature ones are woody) can contain up to two or three whitish mature seeds but usually will contain a single seed. The seed is surrounded by a hard shell of seed coat and is quite flat. The seed is said to exhibit orthodox behaviour and require scarification to speed up germination. 

This species is very shade tolerant but at the same time is sun loving. This species is perhaps the most famous out of the genus (although the genus is spread throughout the tropics around the world) and is planted throughout the tropics and subtropics (more so in Asia). This species can fix atmospheric nitrogen. The USDA zone for this species is most likely around 10. I heard that it is not too fast growing and supposedly quite drought hardy.

Peltophorum pterocarpum seed pod and seed size

Adenanthera microsperma

Common Names: Red Bead Tree (English), Trạch quạch hạt nhỏ (Vietnamese), มะกล่ำตาไก่ (Thai), 海紅豆/小實孔雀豆 (Chinese)
Scientific Name: Adenanthera microsperma Teijsm. & Binn.
Synonyms: Adenanthera pavonina var. microsperma (Teijsm. & Binn.) I.C. Nielsen/Adenanthera tamarindifolia Pierre
Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae)
Natural Distribution: Southern Chinese provinces, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Natural Habitat: Low elevation Tropical and or Subtropical wet or dry closed forest or disturbed forest
Description: Large deciduous tree that can grow up to 30 metres. Leaves are compounded. Petiole of leaflet is reddish brown.
Flower: raceme inflorescence type with yellow bisexual flowers typically located terminally. It can flower throughout the entire year in good conditions, but more common in summer (July to September in the Northern Hemisphere). Fruits appear about 3 months after flowering season. 
Seeds: Seed pod starts to curl up and spiral as the pod matures, causing it to open up and reveal the seeds. Each pod can have several seeds. The ~0.7cm seed within is bright red and is coated by a tough layer, which requires scarification to enable germination. The seed of this species is considerably smaller than that of another species of same genus called Red Sandalwood or Adenanthera pavonina L. (can be twice the size larger than Adenanthera microsperma seeds). The seed storage behaviour of Adenanthera microsperma is orthodox (same as other species within the same genus).  

This species and the red sandalwood are quite common plants in Asia, even among tropical gardeners throughout the world (but red sandalwood is much more popular). This species produces valuable timber and is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. 

I collected seeds on the ground and also a freshly fallen pod on March 22nd 2018 and scarred them and successfully germinated 2 of the seeds on the 31st of March 2018; so it takes about a week for fresh seeds to germinate. I used a sharp nail to scar the coating of the seed before I put it in the Sphagnum moss. 

Size of the seed can vary. Usually around 5 mm. This is one of the seeds that I did not get to germinate probably because the coat is thicker than the others that were from a fresh pod.

Sindora siamensis

Common Names: Gụ mật (Vietnamese), มะแต้ (Thai), 大葉蘇白豆/泰國油楠 (Chinese)
Scientific Name: Sindora siamensis Miq.
Synonyms: Sindora cochinchinensis Baill.
Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae (Subfamily: Detarioideae)
IUCN Red List: Least Concern
Natural Distribution: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Malay Peninsula
Natural Habitat: Low elevation Tropical Dry Dipterocarp Forest, Evergreen or Deciduous Rainforest
Description: Subcanopy semi-evergreen tree that can grow up to more than 20 metres. Leaves are compounded. Leaflets can reach 15 cm (about 5.9 inches) and ellipse-shaped.
Flower: Creamy-coloured bisexual terminal flowers with relatively long stamens and pistils compared with the petals. Flowering season starts early summer (around April to June in Northern Hemisphere).
Seeds: One spikey fruit pod contains around 2 to 3 seeds, the tip of seeds are coated with yellowish hard arils. The fruit pod is around 7 to 8 cm and the spikes have resin droplets. Seed storage is most likely orthodox like the other Sindora species. With good environmental conditions, successful fruit pods can be seen in Autumn (around September to early November in Northern Hemisphere).

The Sindora genus is probably not a popular genus for gardeners, however I think it does have ornamental values as the genus have spiky fruit pods. Seeds and arils apparently edible (please research how to eat them before trying). They are probably most valued for their timber and wood oil is extracted from certain Sindora species. Unlike most members in the same family Fabaceae (legumes), this species does not fix nitrogen. I feel that this species is quite easy to germinate, given warm enough temperatures.

I got the seeds in early January, it seems like they already have fallen for quite some time (perhaps more than a month) and I was still able to get it to germinate about 3 months after collection (germinated on 31st of March 2018). I am not sure if the seeds I got are the variant maritima type Sindora siamensis var. maritima (Pierre) K.Larsen & S.S.Larsen.

These are not Cadbury chocolates! These are the three seeds I got in January with the arils removed. The top seed is enlarged and germinated on 7th of March but died most likely due to too little water as I was away those few days. The only survivor is the bottom right one, which germinated later.