Loading ...The Achiote’ tree (bixa orellana) is busting open seed pods. Commonly called ‘Annatto’, the seeds are used as spice flavor and coloring for food. Essential ingredient for ‘spanish rice’ and carribean and PR cooking. When first open, the seeds are moist with the consistency and staining power of lipstick, which earned the tree the nickname ‘The Lipstick Tree”. It was used for that in the old days.
Pods must dry for a day or two and the dry seeds scooped out, cleaned, dried, and stored. Worse than harvesting coffee hand-picked beans! Meanwhile one hopes it does not rain and rot the open seeds.
Here’s a pix of the buds…er… SEED PODS splitting open. On the ground you can see the ropey lava dome I have uncovered so far. There’s more lava rock in the ridge behind that is still overgrown.
