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Useful Tropical Plants

Couepia guianensis

Aubl.

Chrysobalanaceae

+ Synonyms

Acia amara Willd.

Acia parillo Oken

Acioa amara Steud.

Couepia divaricata Huber

Couepia glandulosa Miq.

Couepia leptostachya Benth. ex Hook.f.

Couepia myrtifolia Benth. ex Hook.f.

Couepia surinamensis Kleinh.

Couepia thyrsiflora Hook.f.

Couepia versicolor Benoist

Moquilea couepia Steud.

Moquilea glandulosa (Miq.) Walp.

Parinari krukovii Gleason

Common Name:

Couepia guianensis
Drawing of the leaves, flowers and fruits
Photograph by: Aublet, F. , Histoire des plantes de la Guiane Franc?oise, vol. 4: t. 207 (1775)
Creative Commons License

General Information

Couepia guianensis is a tree growing up to 25 metres tall.
The tree is harvested from the wild for the edible oil and seed.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

735
Title
Chrysobalanaceae Part 2. Species Plantarum: Flora of the World, Part 19: 1-268
Publication
 
Author
Prance G.T.; Sothers C.A.
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb
Publisher
Australian Biological Resources Study; Canberra.
Year
2003
ISBN
0 642 56833 2
Description
An excellent monograph, part of a very ambitious project to catalogue all the plants in the world. It can be downloaded as a PDF file from the Internet.

Range

S. America - Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas.

Habitat

Rainforests and savannah forests[
422
Title
Fruits of the Guianan Flora
Publication
 
Author
van Roosmalen. M.G.M.
Publisher
Institute of Systematic Boyany, Utrecht University; Netherlands.
Year
1985
ISBN
90-9000988-4
Description
Terse descriptions of over 1,700 species from the Guianas that bear fruits - not necessarily edible! Often mentions if the fruit is edible, plus gives brief description of habit and habitat.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
HabitTree
Height20.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Seed[
2
Title
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Hedrick. U. P.
Publisher
Dover Publications
Year
1972
ISBN
0-486-20459-6
Description
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
].

An oil is obtained from the fruit[
2
Title
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Hedrick. U. P.
Publisher
Dover Publications
Year
1972
ISBN
0-486-20459-6
Description
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
]. A sweet flavour, like almond oil (Prunus armeniaca)[
2
Title
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
Publication
 
Author
Hedrick. U. P.
Publisher
Dover Publications
Year
1972
ISBN
0-486-20459-6
Description
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
].

Medicinal

The fruit is very bitter[
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

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-04-26. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Couepia+guianensis>

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