Ceratonia siliqua

Carob is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean and the Middle East that is widely cultivated for its edible fruit and as an ornamental plant in gardens and landscapes. Carob has been a traditional food crop since antiquity and the uniform seeds are the basis for the ‘carat’ unit of measurement used for precious stones and pearls. Another common name for Carob is “St. John’s Bread” which originates from a purported reference to the fruit in the New Testament of the Bible.

Carob belongs to the legume family of plants and the fruit of the tree is a pod that contains a sweet and nutritious pulp and hard, inedible seeds. The fruit pulp is often touted as a chocolate alternative but in reality has a sweet and nutty flavor all its own. Trees slowly grow to thirty of more feet in height and are either male or female with both plants being needed for fruit production in most cases. Plants are adaptable but prefer full sun, good drainage, and are incredibly drought tolerant.

Cold hardy to USDA Zone 9a or to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

For sale are packets of 10 seeds