Hand-tree

Hand-tree (Cheirostemon platanoides), a large tree of the natural order Sterculiaceæ, which receives its name from the peculiar appearance of its flowers. These have no corolla, but a large 5-lobed, angular, coloured calyx—bright red within—from which project the five stamens, united by their filaments into a column, and separating and curving at the summit, where they bear the anthers, so as to have some resemblance to a hand or claw. It is interesting also as being an object of superstitious veneration to the Mexicans, and as being related to the famous Baobab or Monkey-bread (Adansonia digitata) of Senegal, Guinea, and other countries of that region of the west coast of Africa.