Common Name: Garapa

General Information

Garapa is a tall, deciduous tree with an open crown; it can grow from 25 - 35 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be free of branches for 12 metres, around 80 - 150cm in diameter and with buttresses[, ].
The tree is highly valued for its wood, which is harvested from the wild and exported to many countries. The plant also has local medicinal uses.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela.

Habitat

A canopy tree in broadleaved, semi-deciduous woodland and in the Atlantic rainforest[]. Found mainly in primary forest, and only occasionally in secondary formations[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	30.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in full sun and in dappled shade[]. Succeeds in a wide range of soils[].
Young plants grow away slowly[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark is said to be antisyphilitic[]. A decoction of the grated stem bark is drunk to relieve a fever[].

The bark contains flavonoids[].
Aqueous extracts of the wood and bark have shown antiinflammatory and analgesic activity[]. They also inhibited cutaneous vascular permeability caused by various agents and protected against the venom of the snake Bothrops jararaca[].

Other Uses

The bark is a source of tannins[].

The heartwood is golden-yellow to yellowish-brown, becoming light brown with age; it is clearly demarcated from the 5 - 11cm wide band of sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight or interlocked; there is a slight ribbon-like aspect; there is no distinctive odour, but there is a slightly bitter taste. The wood is tough, hard, heavy, strong. Durability is very variable, sometimes even within the same piece of wood - it is generally fairly durable, being resistant to attacks from dry wood borers and relatively resistant to fungi and termites. Seasoning is slow, but with only a slight risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is moderately stable to stable in service. The wood has a high silica content and so has a high blunting effect upon tools - stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; when machining it is recommended to reduce the feed rate and the cutting angle due to the irregular interlocked grain; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct. The wood is used for interior and exterior joinery, turnery, flooring, wheelwright work, door frames, shafts of vehicles, heavy construction work, boxes and crates etc[, , , ].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Treated seed can be sown in a shaded nursery seedbed. Germination rates are usually lower than 60'5, with the seed sprouting in 20 - 40 days[].

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