Is Autograph Tree Fruit Edible? ( Absolutely Not )

Do you know about autograph trees and is Autograph tree fruit edible? Let’s find out the answer in this article.

Is Autograph tree fruit edible?

Autograph tree fruits are not edible. In fact, the entire Autograph tree is toxic for all living creatures including humans. These fruits could be poisonous towards cats, dogs and even for birds as well. Autograph trees are considered an invasive species in Hawaii, Sri Lanka and other tropical countries. If I briefly explain about these plants, they are native to tropical America.

These plants are quite handy to use for hedges as they have a densely growing habit. Further, many people tend to grow them a lot in their indoor gardens as they require a minor maintenance. These are salt tolerant plants, and you could even grow them closer to oceans as well.

The highlight of these plants are their horizontally grown branches and the thick tough leaves. The commonly spotted plant species of the Clusia species is the Autograph tree. They go by the scientific name Clusia rosea. They are renowned for their ability to absorb carbon dioxide at night.

So, from this article I am going to cover all the details you need to know whether Autograph tree fruits are edible or not.

Do birds eat autograph tree fruits?

Birds consume the seeds, not the Autograph tree fruits. In fact, birds find the autograph tree fruit seeds quite attractive. That said, keep in mind that the Autograph tree fruits are toxic. However, the birds are quite fond of eating the fleshy seeds as they find it quite appealing.

On the other hand, if you get in contact with the plant’s sap, it will result in allergies which cause you to vomit. Their fruit would be more like apple sized green fruit. Once the fruit dried, they would disperse the red seeds and the birds are great fans of them.

Is the Autograph Tree poisonous?

Autograph tree is a poisonous tree and you need to keep them away from the children and from animals as well. If you happen to ingest the plant materials, chances are that it would result in diarrhea and other issues related to the gastrointestinal system.

In fact these gastrointestinal issues could be somewhat risky. However other than these two allergy reactions, Autograph tree does not pose many deadly impacts.

Furthermore, the people who already have allergies in skin may be quite prone towards these plants’ toxicity. So, it is best to wear gloves whenever you are interacting with the plants for any maintenance work. Autograph trees could be toxic towards cats, dogs and even for horses as well. These trees contain a toxin called terpene and it would contribute to all these allergic reactions.

Once the toxicity gets severe, it may even cause disorders in the nervous system too. further chances are that it may even affect the central nervous system to malfunction too. If the cats consume them in large quantities, it could even result in liver failure of the cats as well. Keep in mind that all the plant parts of an autograph plant are toxic. However the highest toxicity is available in the plant’s fruits.

What does an autograph tree look like?

Autograph tree consists of stiff leaves. You could spot them in leathery dark green or even in olive colors. The leaves would grow up to 8 inches in length. You could even carve these leaves as they are that tough. Due to this, they have inherited the name called Autograph tree.

Autograph trees come up with pink or white flowers. They would usually arise on the long flower heads. As the plants mature, they will produce small green fruits. Once those fruits ripe, you could spot them forming bright red seeds as well.

How do you look after an Autograph Tree?

Pruning and maintenance

Autograph trees usually spread widely. Hence you need to ensure that you are pruning them at least once a year. Ideally you need to prune them in early spring so that it would make the plants look neat and nice. In fact, Autograph trees would be excellent for hedges as they can grow densely.

Due to these growth habits, I recommend you prune these plants once a year preferably in early spring. That way it helps them to look nice and neat. In terms of the care treatment, they would prefer to have warmth, humidity, and moderate sunlight as well.

Light requirement of Autograph Trees

In terms of the right light requirement of the Autograph Trees, they would ideally prefer to have full sunlight as those conditions would suit them the best. Having said that, they can also withstand partial shade as well. When you grow them as indoor plants, they can grow in the medium sunlight levels. However if the plants are lacking sufficient sunlight, you could consider growing them under grow lights.

Soil requirement of Autograph Trees

Autograph trees would prefer to grow in a soil mix which is soft and loose. In addition to that it should have excellent drainage as well. Moreover, it should be fertile as well. I recommend you go ahead with a substrate which has a significant component in the organic matter too. When you cultivate them in the pots, you need to grow them along with some orchid mix too.

Water requirement of Autograph trees

Autograph trees need to have a moist soil mix all the time. Having said that , you can also keep their soil to be dry for shorter periods if they are mature enough. Ideally, they need to be at least one year old to leave them in dry conditions for shorter periods. However you need to water these plants on a frequent basis if you wish to have quick growth in these plants.

Despite the fact that they would prefer to be in moist soil you need to ensure that you don’t over water them as it would be unhealthy for them. If you accidentally end up providing too much water, it will lead to diseases such as root rot.

Root rot is a commonly spotted disease which you could come across among a lot of plant species and Autograph trees are no different to them. Once the Autograph trees suffer from these conditions, you could witness how their roots start to decay and end up deteriorating completely at the end. Root rot could be troublesome as it could even attract other annoying pests as well.

Make sure you use only the room temperature water as they would not prefer to have much colder or much warmer water. These plants are used to grow in warmer conditions and if you use colder water on these it would make them traumatized. Ultimately it would even make them shed the leaves too.

Furthermore, I urge you to water them in the morning as then it would allow them to evaporate the excess water during the day. Avoid watering the plants during the nighttime as it would contribute to brown spots on the leaves of the plants.

In case, if you forget to water the plants for some time, you should refrain from watering them in excess when you water them next. Excess watering would make the water stagnate in the plants. So, if you forget to water them once or twice it would not make any major impact on the plants.

Temperature and humidity requirement of Autograph trees

If you live in a tropical area, you could grow them outdoors. However, if you live in a colder region the best would be to grow them indoors. In fact, they are not tolerant of temperatures which drop to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

A temperature between 6 degrees Fahrenheit and 85 degrees Fahrenheit would work well with these plants. Humidity wise, best would be to grow them on a shallow try which is filled with gravel and water as they would prefer to have high humidity levels.

Fertilizer requirement of the Autograph trees

I urge you to feed these plants thrice a year. That way it would help them to grow healthily. Best season to feed the Autograph trees would be from spring to fall. I recommend using the granular pellet form fertilizers on them.

That said, if you wish to feed them more often, you could use a liquid fertilizer to feed them. In fact, if you use a liquid fertilizer you could feed them once every two to three weeks. Besides, you may make a fertilizer on your own and feed them too.

Recently asked questions

Why is it called an autograph tree?

These plants have inherited the name Autograph trees due to the texture of their leaves. Autograph trees consist of leaves which are rigid and leathery. They are prominent in dark olive green in color, and you could even carve on these leaves. This characteristic has made them inherit the nickname Autograph trees.

Is an autograph tree toxic to cats?

The Autograph tree is toxic to cats.in fact all parts of the Autograph tree are toxic for them. If the cats end up ingesting these plants by mistake, they may vomit and suffer from diarrhea , drooling etc. in addition it may also result in weakness , tremors and in malfunctions of livers as well.

Conclusion

To wrap up, Autograph trees are such versatile and attractive plants which many plant lovers would opt to have in their garden and in indoor garden collections. They are such adorable plants and quite beneficial plants as well. However bear in mind that these plants are toxic and it is not recommended to consume their fruits as they could be poisonous.