Adenanthera pavonina seed | Red Sandalwood, Peacock Flower Fence
LATIN NAME: Adenanthera pavonina COMMON NAME: Red Sandalwood, Peacock Flower Fence
Botanical Profile
Red sandalwood is native to tropical Asia, from India through Southeast Asia, and grows into a substantial spreading tree with delicate, doubly compound leaves and small, fragrant yellow-white flowers carried in narrow spikes. Its twisted, curling seed pods burst open to reveal an eye-catching display of hard, glossy, bright scarlet seeds that remain attached to the open pod for some time, creating a striking display against the tree’s green foliage.
Science & Conservation
This species’ seeds are exceptionally uniform in weight, a natural consistency that led to their historical use across South and Southeast Asia as small counterweights in traditional gold and gem trading, a practice extensively documented by historians of pre-modern weights and measures. The tree’s reddish heartwood, sometimes traded under the name red sandalwood despite being unrelated to true sandalwood in the genus Santalum, has also been studied for its distinct pigment chemistry, which differs from that of true sandalwood species.
Landscape & Practical Uses
Red sandalwood’s brilliant scarlet seeds are widely used in jewellery, rosaries and traditional decorative crafts across South and Southeast Asia, and the tree’s reddish timber, though botanically unrelated to true sandalwood, has some traditional use in woodworking. As with its close relative, intact seeds are handled safely for craft purposes, but cracked or damaged seeds should be discarded, and seeds should always be kept well out of reach of young children.
Growing From Seed
Nick or lightly sand the hard seed coat and soak it in warm water overnight before sowing into a loose, free-draining tropical mix. Keep the medium warm and consistently moist, provide bright light, and expect this vigorous tropical tree to establish readily, in time producing the striking pods of glossy scarlet seeds that make the species so recognisable.
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