Tropical American small tree with pink flowers and spiny red seed capsules. The orange seed coating (bixin and norbixin) is the principal natural orange food and textile colourant — the colour of cheddar cheese, Spanish chorizo, and bottled fruit-flavour drinks.
Hardiness ratings
| System | Rating | Temperature range | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA hardiness zone | Zone 10–12 | −1.1 °C to 15.6 °C | Plant tolerates down to this zone |
| RHS hardiness rating | H1c | 5 °C to 10 °C | Plant needs at least this level of cold tolerance |
| Canadian plant hardiness zone | Zone 9 | −1 °C and warmer | Plant tolerates down to this zone |
| Australian (ANBG) zone | Zone 5–7 | 5 °C and warmer | Plant tolerates down to this zone |
Growing notes
- Orange dye (bixin) extracted from the waxy red coating on the seeds — used both as a textile and as a food colourant
- Source of the orange colour of commercial cheddar, Red Leicester, Spanish chorizo, and many "natural orange" food products
- Used as a body paint and lipstick precursor by Amazonian peoples — the genus name Bixa derives from the Tupi name
- Frost-tender — strictly warm-climate cultivation
- Not reliably hardy outdoors in Canada — Canadian zone values shown represent the system maximum and do not imply garden cultivation north of the warmest coastal pockets.
Categories
Related plants
Cross-check Annatto against your zones