Annatto, Bixa Orellana, Shendri, Sindur - 0.5 kg Seeds

Annatto or sindur (Bixa orellana), known in India as latkan, shendri or kamela, is an evergreen shrub or small tree of 3-8 m with large heart-shaped leaves and showy pink-to-white flowers. Its most striking feature is the cluster of spiny crimson-red seed pods, which split to reveal seeds coated in a bright orange-red pulp. Originally from tropical America, it is now widely grown in the warm, humid regions of India, particularly the Western Ghats, the north-east and the eastern coastal belt.

The seed coating is the source of the natural orange-red dye annatto (bixin), used worldwide to colour food, butter, cheese, cosmetics and textiles, and traditionally as a vermilion-like body and forehead colour. The plant is also grown as an ornamental and hedge for its handsome flowers and decorative pods, and the seeds and leaves have minor medicinal uses.

• Family: Bixaceae
• Native region: Tropical Central and South America
• Mature height: 3-8 m
• Growth rate: Fast

Sowing the seed: soak the seeds in water for about 24 hours and gently rub off the coloured pulp to speed germination. Sow them 1-2 cm deep in a moist, well-drained nursery mix or polybags kept warm and partly shaded; germination usually takes 14-21 days. Transplant the seedlings to their final position once they are 20-30 cm tall, ideally at the start of the monsoon.