Castanospermum (Noun)
Meaning
A rosid dicot genus of the subfamily Papilionoideae having one species: Moreton Bay chestnut.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- Castanospermum is native to Australia's east coast from Baffle Creek, near Bundaberg in south eastern Queensland southwards through the coastlines and some more northern temperate coastlines and possibly montane in subtropical or just some rather strictly southeasterly and lower tropical regions in New South Wales.
- Castanospermum australe is the sole species in the genus Castanospermum, sometimes referred to as lucky bean tree, black bean, black ebony, Moreton Bay chestnut, or in Australia and other places, the Moreton Bay chestnut only, due to its seeds resembling edible chestnuts.
- Wood from Castanospermum trees is heavy, dense, hardwood and black, used often for fine, cabinet making, high value carvings, parquetry, bent work veneer timber, often with figured grain in its patterns.
- Castanospermum has compound and alternate leaves that have mostly six to twelve pairs of elliptical to lance shaped, pointed leaflets.
- Blackwood or Castanospermum black bean coffee substitute made by roasting the seeds of Castanospermum australe are sold worldwide mostly as Australian Blackwood seeds'.