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Useful Tropical Plants

Luehea seemannii

Triana & Planch

Malvaceae

+ Synonyms

Common Name:

Luehea seemannii
Tree growing in native habitat
Photograph by: Reinaldo Aguilar
Creative Commons License
Luehea seemannii Luehea seemannii Luehea seemannii Luehea seemannii Luehea seemannii Luehea seemannii Luehea seemannii

General Information

Luehea seemannii is an evergreen tree that can grow 10 - 40 metres tall, attaining its greatest height on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica. The bole can range from 60 - 180cm in diameter, and is often strongly buttressed with buttresses up to 2 metres high[
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.
,
331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
,
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
,
512
Title
Flora of the Lancetilla Valley, Honduras.
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago.
Year
1931
ISBN
 
Description
Rather short on details at times, which is not surprising since so little information was available at the time. Still a useful flora. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood. It is sometimes planted as an amenity shade tree[
469
Title
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 27
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Smithsonian Institute; Washington.
Year
1928
ISBN
 
Description
Contains a Flora of the Panama Canal zone
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/

Range

S. America - Colombia, Venezuela; C. America - Panama to Guatemala.

Habitat

The largest trees are found in wet lowland forests, often near streams, but the species also grows in hilly areas up to 600 metres[
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height30.00 m
Growth RateFast
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of tropical lowland regions, where it can be found at elevations up to 600 metres. It grows wild in climates with a mean annual rainfall from 2,000 - 4,000mm and a mean annual temperature of 23 - 25 °c[
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
].
Grows wild in a wide range of soils[
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
].
A fast-growing tree, often flowering when still only a shrub[
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
].
Young plants growing in pastures and on cut-over land are often little more than shrubs and have much larger juvenile leaves, which may be nearly 30cm in length[
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of the bark is taken as an astringent[
872
Title
Journal of Ethnobiology Vol 17
Publication
 
Author
Eugene S. Hunn (Editor)
Publisher
Society of Ethnobiology; Seattle.
Year
1997 - 1998
ISBN
 
Description
A series of articles on the various ways humans use plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Other Uses

The macerated young shoots secrete a dense, brown-reddish mucilageous substance in water. This substance is used in small sugarcane mills to agglomerate dirt and debris from boiling juice. The dirt and debris are gathered from the surface of the liquid and used as fertilizer[
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
].

We do not have any more information on the wood of this species, but a general description of the wood of members of this genus is as follows:-
The heartwood is brown or brownish, sometimes with a pinkish tinge, and more or less streaked; it is not clearly demarcated from the sapwood. The texture is fine to medium; the grain straight to finely roey; lustre varies from low to fairly high; there is no distinctive odour or taste. The wood is soft and light in weight; it is not very durable, being vulnerable to attack by decay fungi and insects. It air dries rapidly with little or no degrade. The wood is reported to be easy to work, though one member of the genus is said to be difficult to plane, and another is difficult to turn. It is used for low value items such as millwork, furniture components, flooring, general construction, boxes and crates, veneer and plywood, particleboard, and shoe heels[
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 wood is used primarily for fuel[
337
Title
Tropical Tree Seed Manual
Publication
 
Author
Vosso. J. Editor.
Website
http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm
Publisher
USDA Forest Service.
Year
2002
ISBN
 
Description
An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
]

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Luehea+seemannii>

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