Pachira Aquatica (Money Tree)

[kttdid]

Hi there,

Does anyone know if Pachira Aquatica (also called Money Tree or Guiana Chestnut) is safe for tortoises to eat? I can't seem to find any information on it anywhere.

Thank you!
Kat

[Nina]

Hi Kat,

I've had a good look at the literature and can't find anything that would indicate that you can't feed this plant to tortoises. I would only feed the leaves (not the fruit or seeds). Here's a (very long) article that analyses the chemical constituents in it https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 7521000788 . I have seen it listed as safe for pets on various sites, and it's a member of the Malvaceae family, and most of the plants in that family are edible.

Are you growing the plant indoors or outdoors? I only ask because the plant has a reputation for being able to purify air indoors by absorbing organic volatile compounds in the air, so if it is sited in a polluted place then the leaves could possibly contain some of those pollutants, but I doubt that this is a big problem.

Nina

[kttdid]

Nina,

Thank you so much for researching this further and helping me to understand the safety of this plant. I sincerely appreciate your help! You seem to have been able to find better information than I was able to and it is very helpful.

Thanks again, for your help.

Kat