Physic Nut Care

Leaves: The leaves have significant variability in their morphology. In general, the leaves are green to pale green, alternate to subopposite, and three- to five-lobed with a spiral phyllotaxis. Flowers: male and female flowers are produced on the same inflorescence, averaging 20 male flowers to each female flower, or 10 male flowers to each female flower. The inflorescence can be formed in the leaf axil. Plants occasionally present hermaphroditic flowers. Fruits : fruits are produced in winter, or there may be several crops during the year if soil moisture is good and temperatures are sufficiently high. Most fruit production is concentrated from midsummer to late fall with variations in production peaks where some plants have two or three harvests and some produce continuously through the season. Seeds: the seeds are mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow. The seeds contain around 20% saturated fatty acids and 80% unsaturated fatty acids, and they yield 25–40% oil by weight. In addition, the seeds contain other chemical compounds, such as saccharose, raffinose, stachyose, glucose, fructose, galactose, and protein. The oil is largely made up of oleic and linoleic acids. Furthermore, the plant also contains curcasin, arachidic, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids and curcin.