If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Brosimum utile

(Kunth) Pittier

Moraceae

+ Synonyms

Brosimum allenii Woodson

Brosimum galactodendron D.Don ex Sweet

Brosimum humboldtii Carr.

Galactodendrum utile Kunth

Common Name: Cow Tree

Brosimum utile
Tree growing in native habitat
Photograph by: Reinaldo Aguilar
Creative Commons License
Brosimum utile Brosimum utile Brosimum utile Brosimum utile Brosimum utile Brosimum utile

General Information

Brosimum utile is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 30 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be 75 - 115cm in diameter[
316
Title
Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607.
Publication
 
Author
Chudnoff. Martin.
Publisher
USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin.
Year
1984
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its latex and timber. The latex can be used as a substitute for milk. The plant is cultivated in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia for its latex[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

369
Title
Flora of Costa Rica
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C.
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago
Year
1938
ISBN
 
Description
Rather dated, but an excellent treatment of the area. Available for download from the internet.

Range

S. America - Amazon basin to Ecuador, north through Colombia and Venezuela to Costa Rica.

Habitat

Rainforests[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
]. Evergreen forest formations at elevations below 400 metres[
369
Title
Flora of Costa Rica
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C.
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago
Year
1938
ISBN
 
Description
Rather dated, but an excellent treatment of the area. Available for download from the internet.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height25.00 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

A nutritious, milky sap, or latex, flows out of incisions made in the bark[
307
Title
Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide.
Publication
 
Author
Barwick. M.
Publisher
Thames & Hudson, London
Year
2004
ISBN
0-500-51181-0
Description
A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
]. The nourishing white liquid, which is slightly viscous and resinous, is consumed like milk[
307
Title
Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide.
Publication
 
Author
Barwick. M.
Publisher
Thames & Hudson, London
Year
2004
ISBN
0-500-51181-0
Description
A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
,
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
]. It can also be used to create a 'cheese' that is made from the thread-like curds that form on the surface of the liquid when it is exposed to the air[
307
Title
Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide.
Publication
 
Author
Barwick. M.
Publisher
Thames & Hudson, London
Year
2004
ISBN
0-500-51181-0
Description
A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
].
The latex has been used as a base for chewing gum[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].

The fleshy fruit with the nutritious seeds are eaten boiled and salted[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].

Medicinal

The latex is used as an analgesic and is drunk as a medication for colds and whooping cough[
348
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
Publication
 
Author
DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
Website
http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
Publisher
Smithsonian Museum
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
].

Other Uses

The fibrous bark has been used for making cloth, blankets and sails[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].

The latex is rich in wax-like substances and has been used to make candles[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].

The heartwood is a uniform yellowish white to yellowish brown or light brown with golden shades; it is not distinctly demarcated from the sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight to widely and shallowly interlocked; the lustre high; when seasoned there is no odour or taste. The wood is of moderate weight; soft to moderately hard; not very durable, being susceptible to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons normally, with only a slight risk of checking or distortion; once seasoned it is poorly stable in service. The wood works well with ordinary tools, however they need to be kept sharp otherwise the interlocked grain and the tension wood which is sometimes prevalent can cause fuzzy grain and burning of saws due to pinching; it takes stains and finishes readily; takes nails and screws well; presents no gluing problems. It is used for purposes such as light carpentry, light construction, flooring, furniture components, plywood, particleboard, fibreboard, pulp and paper products, and mouldings[
316
Title
Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607.
Publication
 
Author
Chudnoff. Martin.
Publisher
USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin.
Year
1984
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
,
848
Title
Tropix 7
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://tropix.cirad.fr/en
Publisher
CIRAD
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Greenwood cuttings.
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Brosimum+utile>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.