Wow! Such a beautiful plant! We absolutely love the full shape and wonderful foliage on this houseplant. Growing in it’s natural habitat – this native to south and central America plant grows in swamps up to 20 metres tall, which is surprising considering how well it’s adapted to become an easy to care for indoor tree. The Mexican fortune tree produces attractive white flowers and edible nuts.
The Pachira aquatica has many common names including Mexican fortune tree, braided money tree, malabar chestnut, guiana chestnut and a few others.
In South America and other warm climates the pachira is grown for it’s edible nuts, in east Asia for good fortune, and in Europe and the US for their attractiveness as an indoor tree species. Grown braided as a house plant edible nuts will not fruit.
These have been cultivated in Taiwan to produce the braided types in various sizes including successful bonsai’s, which are exported to Europe, US and other countries.
The obvious interesting feature is the trunks of the money plant are braided which are thick and woody (like any other tree) with bark. The upper section of the trunk produces green branches with long thin petioles (stalks) and palmatley compound or whorled leaves (five or more leaflets attached like fingers) sitting at the top of the petiole. So, the plant has a mixture of a tree and palm appearance. The lush linear leaves are glossy in appearance and have darker green visible veins, adding to it’s attractiveness as a house or office plant. The smaller bonsai trunks look very thick compared to the size of the rest of the tree.
The Mexican fortune tree produces attractive white flowers and edible nuts. However, they will not bloom indoors.
A plant over 4 feet tall can add some charm to many places within a home – especially in large rooms, near patio doors, near a fireplace, in a conservatory, or within a hallway. They also make fantastic reception area and office plants, as long as the correct conditions can be provided.
We’ll be sharing more about this plant in future.
