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''Castanospermum australe'' (Moreton Bay chestnut or blackbean), the only species in the genus ''Castanospermum'', is a
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek language, Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to ...
in the family
Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...
, native to the east coast of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...
in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
and
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, and to the Pacific islands of
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
,
New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, and the island of New Britain (Papua New Guinea).


Growth

It is a large
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that ar ...
growing to tall, though commonly much smaller. The
leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...
are long and broad,
pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and i ...
, with 11-15 leaflets. The
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
s are bicoloured red and yellow, long, produced in
raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the ...
s long. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in parti ...
is a cylindrical pod long and diameter, the interior divided by a spongy substance into one to five cells, each of which contains a large
chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...
-like
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
.


Common names

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' records the common names of ''Castanospermum australe'' as "Moreton Bay Chestnut" and "Bean tree" and notes that it was called "Irtalie" by Aboriginal people of the Richmond and Clarence Rivers (New South Wales) and "Bogum" by "others of Northern New South Wales". Other names that have been used by Aboriginal peoples are: baway, yiwurra, junggurraa, mirrayn, ganyjuu, and binyjaalga.


Uses


Chemicals

In 1981,
castanospermine Castanospermine is an indolizidine alkaloid first isolated from the seeds of ''Castanospermum australe''. It is a potent inhibitor of some glucosidase enzymes and has antiviral activity '' in vitro'' and in mouse models. The castanospermine de ...
was isolated from the seeds. Members of this and closely related
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomencla ...
accumulate
iminosugar An iminosugar, also known as an iminosaccharide, is any analog of a sugar where a nitrogen atom has replaced the oxygen atom in the ring of the structure. Iminosugars are common components of plants and may be responsible for some of their med ...
s in their leaves.


Cultural significance

Due to its importance as a food, the blackbean tree was a
seasonal A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
gathering point for Aboriginal peoples, and this acted as a catalyst for ceremonies.
Songlines A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dre ...
featuring the black bean seeds have been collected. The bark fibre has been used for fish and animal traps, nets and baskets, and the empty seed pods have been used as toy boats. Additionally, the tree has been used as a seasonal signal for when to hunt jungle fowl.


Food

The unprocessed seeds are poisonous since they contain toxic
saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...
s, and can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, but they become edible when carefully prepared by roasting, cutting up into small pieces, leaching with running water for several days, and pounding into flour and roasting it as a damper. The seeds have been prepared and eaten for at least 2,500 years. The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' notes and describes this use of the beans. As of 2012, the food was not used in modern
bush tucker Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...
, and there was no nutritional information available on the seeds.


Ornamental use

The trees are popular as potted plants in Asia, Europe and America. In addition, they have been used as shade trees in landscaping for parks.


Wood

The wood was used by Aboriginal people for spear throwers. The
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
, which somewhat resembles
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...
, is soft, fine-grained, and takes a good polish, and the wood has a durability rating above-ground of over 40 years longevity.


Spread

Due to its significance as a food for Aboriginal people, blackbean trees were spread by hand into mountain areas on the east coast of Australia. All the trees in New South Wales are descended from a single seed. The plant naturally spreads by water. It has been introduced to India, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, South Africa and the United States of America.


Gallery

Image:Castanospermum australe flower 1.jpg, ''Castanospermum australe'' flower Image:200410 Castanospermum australe.JPG, Small ''C. australe'' tree Image:Castanospermum australe02.jpg, Mature pod and seeds


References


External links

* *
Bush Tucker Plants: Moreton Bay Chestnut
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10438724, from2=Q783001 Angylocalyceae Monotypic Fabaceae genera Fabales of Australia Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Poisonous plants