INTERESTING SEEDS

Seed-spotting skills gone, well, to seed? Gen up with our handy guide and your knowledge will soon bear fruit

Aloe Vera

Only with the splitting open of a mature capsule can we say ’aloe to the small winged seeds of this soothing succulent.

Ceylon Olive

The seeds of this Indian evergreen tree are the jewels in its crown – literally – as they’re used as decorative beads.

Ping Pong tree

Cute name, sweet looking but don’t be fooled, these toxic seeds are behind many a grisly deed in South-East Asia.

King Protea

Large, hairy nuts that are adapted to grow back after a fire – this South African plant is more like a phoenix than a king…

Cotton

Called bolls, cotton seeds are found within the plant’s fibres. Native to the Americas – now found worldwide.

Oleander

Tiny and hairy: the hobbits of the seed world. Their hobbit home is a long, thin capsule that splits open when mature.

Earleaf Acacia

Each shiny black seed of this evergreen Aussie tree has an orange-yellow appendage from which they dangle.

Lipstick tree

Mayans used the red dyes from this tree’s seeds as body paint, ink and colouring. Just 6mm high, it’s a truly compact lipstick.

Sweet Scabious

Sweet by name, spiky by nature. Doesn’t stop their continued popularity in flower arrangements, however.