Explore Jul 17, 2011 #109 I love the center of the Clusia flower with its tooth like stamens that reach over its luscious green throat. And the golden seed like structures that surround its base. After a day or so, the white petals turn to a warm brown and are equally wondrous! Clusia lanceolata, a delightful shrub or small tree 8 to 10 feet tall, is native to Brazil where it grows in sandy areas adjacent to mangrove areas. The small round fruits which follow open to expose seeds with an orange-red aril. Leathery, lanceolate leaves are about three inches long. Showy, waxy flowers, one to two inches across. Clusia lancealota thrives in sun or shade with minimal irrigation. It can be maintained as a smaller specimen with judicious pruning or allowed to fill a larger space. It can also be grown in a large container, planted in full sun to light shade. The genus Clusia was named in honor of botanist Carolus Clusius, who was one of the first northern Europeans to recognize plants for their own sake, to value their beauty as well as their use. In 1573, he was invited by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II to establish a botanical garden (hortus botanicus) in the capital at Vienna, for which Busbecq gave him seeds and bulbs, although Clusius also had possessed tulips of his own. Clusia lanceolata, Porcelain Flower, Copey, Balsam Apple, Pitch Apple, Cerra cipapao apple Family: Clusiaceae, Brazil Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL www.susanfordcollins.com