Entada gigas, commonly known as the monkey-ladder, sea bean, cœur de la mer or sea heart, is a species of Flowering plant liana in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Mimosoideae. It is native to Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America, and Africa.
Description
Generative characteristics
The fruit measures across and can reach long, with reports of pods up to long.
This pod, like all
legumes, is a single
carpel, the largest carpel of any known plant. Inside each pod are ten to fifteen
, each of which have a diameter of and a thickness of .
The seeds contain a hollow cavity, which gives them
buoyancy. After being washed by rain into rivers and then the ocean, the seeds can
Drift seed long distances on
. Seed buoyancy and vitality lasts at least two years.
Use
In Gabon it is used to make ropes and nets.
[ Fibres. p.153. (2012). Niederlande: Prota Foundation.]
File:Sea heart (Entada gigas) seeds.jpg|Sea heart ( Entada gigas) seeds
File:Monkey_Ladder_Vine_canopy.jpg|A canopy formed over lianas
File:Entada_gigas1.jpg| Entada gigas seeds, resembling hearts
File:Flore médicale des Antilles, ou, Traité des plantes usuelles (Pl. 200) (8182069333).jpg|Botanical illustration from 1827
External links
