Ask the Expert:

St. Croix seed pod ID
I found this 18″ pod in St. Croix.  Pictured is the inside & outside.  Before it split open there were seeds in each of the little compartments and made a great rattle.

Delonix regia Seed Pod

Can anyone ID it?  Thanks. John

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

This seed pod was unfamiliar to me so I contacted David M. Hamada, the
Horticultural Director at the St. George Village Botanical Garden.  Here is his reply:

I have been traveling so sorry for the delay in responding. The seed pod is from Delonix regia, locally known as Flamboyant, known in other areas as Royal Poinciana. It is native to Madagascar, but very commonly found here in the Caribbean.

Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant Tree

The Delonix regia is a flowering tree with fern-like leaves and very vivid red/orange/yellow flowers. It is a wildly cultivated ornamental tree.

This semi-evergreen tree will be deciduous in areas with long dry seasons. It requires a tropical or near tropical climate. You can find it in Caribbean, Africa, Hong Kong, the Canary Islands, Thailand, Taiwan and southern China. In the United States, you can find it South Florida, Southwest Florida, the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, ranging from the low deserts of Southern Arizona (to as high as Tucson), Southern California. It can also be found in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

In South Florida, it blooms May through June. In the Caribbean, it blooms May through September.

According to Wikipedia,  the seed pods are used as a percussion instrument known as the shak-shak or maraca.