Spider Flower
Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 2:25PM
[chuck] in Herrania, Peruvian Amazon, Science, edible fruits

There are a number of strange and wonderful trees in the Peruvian Amazon, but this one, Herrania nitida, would always make me stop and stare (and usually take a picture) whenever I found it with flowers.  Known locally as cacahuillo (little cacao) or flor de araña (spider flower), the species produces small, edible fruits and a profusion of red, cauliflorous flowers that maybe look a little bit like spiders - if you squint. [NOTE: Herrania is in the family Sterculiaceae together with Theobroma cacao and T. grandiflorum     

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