Dillenia Indica, Elephant Apple - 0.5 kg Seeds

Elephant Apple (Dillenia indica), called chalta, is a handsome evergreen tree with a dense rounded crown, large corrugated leaves with prominent parallel veins, and big solitary white flowers with a boss of yellow stamens. The flowers are followed by hard, greenish, apple-like fruits made up of fleshy sepals.

The acidic fruit pulp is widely used in chutneys, jams, curries and cooling drinks, and the tree has medicinal uses and yields a useful timber. With its bold foliage and showy blooms it is also planted as an ornamental and shade tree. In India it grows naturally in the moist forests of the north-east, the sub-Himalayan tract and the Western Ghats, favouring streamsides and high-rainfall areas.

• Family: Dilleniaceae
• Native region: North-east India and moist forest tracts
• Mature height: 15 m
• Growth rate: Moderate

Clean the small seeds from the fleshy pulp and soak them in water for 24 hours before sowing. Sow shallowly, barely covering the seed, in a seed tray of moist, well-drained mix kept warm and lightly shaded. Germination is slow and uneven, usually 21–30 days; prick out the seedlings into polybags and grow them on before transplanting to a moist, sheltered site.