Terminalia cattapa is one of the most common trees growing wild throughout India, Malaysia and many other parts of SE Asia, but it is also cultivated for its striking features as well as its tasty crop of almond-like nuts.
It grows as a single stem which when reaching a good height sends out a series of horizontal branches and then thickens up from there making a very good source of shade.
In Autumn the large glossy green oval leaves turn to wonderful autumnal colours of red, copper and gold making an attractive carpet underneath - though it rarely looses all its leave in one go and will continue to drop leaves throughout the year.
There are tiny, inconspicuous white flowers on the end of spikes near the end of branches, that are very fragrant for their small size.
Fruits are green and almond-shaped, turning to brownish purple when ripe with a shell that surrounds an edible nut. This shell helps the fruit to float as the seed is dispersed by water.
Unlike the commercial almond, the Sea Almond can be eaten raw and oil can be extracted from the dried nuts for cooking.
These trees are well known in tropical northern Queensland where they provide a great food source for black cockatoos, so if you like birdlife in your garden, then this is the tree to plant.