Botanical Jewelry Addendum
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Botanical Jewelry Addendum

A Tree With Exploding Seed Pods

Euphorbiaceae: Euphorbia Family

Sandbox Tree (Hura crepitans)

Flowering branch of the Caribbean sandbox tree (Hura crepitans) showing the unusual purple blossom and shiny green, heart-shaped leaf. The large seed capsule of this tree was used to hold sand as a blotter before the advent of paper blotters and ball point pins.

The large, pumpkin-shaped seed capsule of the sandbox tree (Hura crepitans) explodes like a hand grenade when mature, only the shrapnel consists of seeds and dolphin-shaped sections.

A partially exploded seed capsule of the sandbox tree (Hura crepitans). The shrapnel of this botanical "hand grenade" consists of flattened, circular seeds and dolphin-shaped sections.

A fully exploded seed capsule of the sandbox tree (Hura crepitans). The shrapnel of this botanical "hand grenade" consists of flattened, circular seeds and dolphin-shaped sections.

Earrings made of sections from exploded seed capsules of the sandbox tree (Hura crepitans). Each section has the general shape of a porpoise or dolphin as it bounds through the water.

Necklace made of sections from exploded seed capsules of the sandbox tree (Hura crepitans). The small brown seeds are from a common roadside shrub introduced throughout the tropics. It is sometimes called wild tamarind (Leucaena leucocephala).

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