Trapping Fortunes within the Folds of the Popojonche, Pachira Aquatica or Money Tree
By Dr. Gilberto Hernández Quirós
UNA Nicoya TEFL Academic Professor
Key words: money tree, pachira aquatica, páchira acuática, popojonche, prosperity
Nature is a great source of inspiration, relaxation, food and equilibrium to ensure harmony and survival of all species. It is especially more captivating if you truly believe that it can help trap fortune -besides environmental awareness and commitment- at least within the folds of the Popojonche, Paquira Aquatica, Páchira Acuática or Money Tree. Best of all, you can even eat this exotic fruit with its quirky flavor.
Back in 2018 at Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTN) at its Central Campus in Alajuela, I came across this conspicuous and unique fruit up in a tree although no one seemed to know anything about the tree itself, name or its fruit that resembled a football ball or a basketball ball.
The trees are planted on the premises of formerly Centro de Formación de Formadores y Personal Técnico para el Desarrollo Industrial de Centroamérica (CEFOF) which is now the UTN University Administration Building located in Villa Bonita, Alajuela.
Upon doing daily research as a result of my burning desire to know specific data about this tree, I learned that it belongs to the malvaceae family and grows up to 18 meters high. It has various names such as the Money Tree Plant, Popojonche although it is also known as Pachira Aquatica or Páchira Acuática.
This is an evergreen tree that grows in the swamps of Central and South America. The popojonche tree can also be used as an indoor or bonsai tree since it is easy to maintain and regulate its growth.
It can grow in many different conditions, and it is quite durable and gives a fresh look wherever it may be planted. I personally brought it to Nicoya where it has grown with great pleasure.
There is one planted nearby El Cornizuelo Trail on the UNA Nicoya Campus although I have not been able to see and monitor its growth due to access restrictions to those areas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully I will be able to take some pictures soon enough!
According to a legend, which gave this plant its name, it says that the money tree will bring great wealth and prosperity to its owner. Its trunks may be braided together to "lock in" luck and fortune. Once the trunks have been braided, they will continue to grow this way, but it occasionally might need some trimming to keep it all in place.
Even though this plant comes originally from the Americas, it can be found in Taiwan where it has become a popular symbol as Feng Shui practitioners who truly believe that it creates “chi,” which is positive energy that brings luck in homes.
In the legend, they say a poor Taiwanese farmer found a small Pachira plant growing in his field one day, and he soon became one of the wealthiest people in Taiwan and attributed his wealth to the Pachira plant.
Trapping fortune with its folds of five leaves or more typically found on a stalk and which are said to represent the five elements of balance: earth, fire, water, wind, and metal. Sometimes you may find up to 7 folds which is ultimate prosperity and plenteousness.
The leaves and flowers are also edible. Its eye-catching flowers, among the largest tree flowers in the world, have long, narrow petals that open like a banana peel and reveal hairlike yellowish orange stamens. They are pinkish to reddish and are scented which open up at night or in the morning for a few days.
The seeds of the tree are dark brownish to a maroon color with a length of 4 to 10 centimeters and 5 to 6 in width. Each fruit can produce from 10 to 25 or more seeds which drop to the ground once the fruit has opened up naturally. The seeds are 2,5 in diameter and are edible in scrumptious ways.
Indeed, the seeds may be eaten raw and their flavor resembles peanuts or chestnuts. Some say they taste like “cacao” or “guaba”.
They may likewise be cooked, fried or boiled. Another way to eat them is by grinding them once dried to be able to obtain flour and make bread or “tortitas para acompañar el café.”
Seeing these trees grow, and especially the one on the UNA Nicoya Campus, gives me great satisfaction as I would like to further investigate and confirm whether iguanas and howler monkeys, among other animals, will eat this fruit and benefit from it while positively thinking that the money trees have come to provide us with positive illusion and enthusiasm for ongoing improvement and benefit for us all.
The magic of the Pachira Aquatica is by far absorbing, and it has given rise to legends, sources of food, indoor decoration, meditation, reforestation and many other positive aspects that represent hope, innovation and discovery of new forms of feeding ourselves and animals. They can also help people bring home income by selling seeds, growing ornamental plants or the preparation of food deriving from its fruit.
What a wonderful invitation for all of us to resort to natural resources and not depend on products heavily loaded with chemicals while being at peace and harmony with nature as a whole.
