Rare Organic Carob Tree Seeds (Locust Bean Tree/ St. John's Bread Tree)

Rare Organic Carob Tree Seeds (Locust Bean Tree/ St. John's Bread Tree) Seeds (3)

Carob
The carob (Ceratonia siliqua) is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscapes. The carob tree is native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East.

The ripe, dried, and sometimes toasted pod is often ground into carob powder, which is sometimes used to replace cocoa powder. Carob bars (an alternative to chocolate bars), as well as carob chips (an alternative to chocolate chips), and carob treats are often available in health food stores. Carob pods are naturally sweet, not bitter, and contain no theobromine or caffeine.The carob tree grows up to 15 m (49 ft) tall. The crown is broad and semispherical, supported by a thick trunk with rough brown bark and sturdy branches. Its leaves are 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) long, alternate, pinnate, and may or may not have a terminal leaflet.

Habitat
Although cultivated extensively, carob can still be found growing wild in eastern Mediterranean regions, and has become naturalized in the west
The tree is typical in the southern Portuguese region of the Algarve, where the tree is called alfarrobeira, and the fruit alfarroba. It is also seen in southern and eastern Spain (Spanish: algarrobo, algarroba), mainly in the regions of Andalusia and Valencia (Valencian: garrofer, garrofa); Malta (Maltese: ħarruba), on the Italian islands of Sicily (Sicilian: carrua) and Sardinia (Italian: carrubo, carruba), in Southern Croatia (Croatian: rogač), in eastern Bulgaria (Bulgarian: рожков), and in Southern Greece, Cyprus, as well as on many Greek islands such as Crete and Samos. The common Greek name is χαρουπιά (translit. charoupia), or ξυλοκερατιά (translit. ksilokeratia, meaning "wooden horn"). In Turkey, it is known as "goat's horn" (Turkish: keçiboynuzu).
Carob tree
A large carob tree in Sardinia, Italy
The various trees known as algarrobo in Latin America (Albizia saman in Cuba, Prosopis pallida in Peru and four species of Prosopis in Argentina and Paraguay) belong to a different subfamily, Mimosoideae of the Fabaceae. Early Spanish settlers named them algarrobo after the carob tree because they also produce pods with sweet pulp