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Useful Tropical Plants

Amphitecna latifolia

(Mill.) A.H.Gentry

Bignoniaceae

+ Synonyms

Amphitecna obovata (Benth.) L.O.Williams

Crescentia coriacea Miers

Crescentia cucurbitina L.

Crescentia cuspidata Miers

Crescentia elongata Miers

Crescentia latifolia Lam.

Crescentia latifolia Mill.

Crescentia lethifera Tussac

Crescentia obovata Benth.

Crescentia palustris Forsyth ex Seem.

Crescentia toxicaria Tussac

Dendrosicus latifolius (Mill.) A.H.Gentry

Dendrosicus saxatilis Raf.

Enallagma cucurbitina (L.) Baill. ex Schum.

Enallagma latifolia (Mill.) Small

Enallagma obovata (Benth.) Baill. ex Schum.

Common Name:

Amphitecna latifolia
Flower
Photograph by: Dick Culbert
Creative Commons License
Amphitecna latifolia Amphitecna latifolia Amphitecna latifolia Amphitecna latifolia Amphitecna latifolia Amphitecna latifolia Amphitecna latifolia

General Information

Amphitecna latifolia is an evergreen tree with a narrow, moderately dense crown; it can grow 10 - 15 metres tall. An irregularly shaped tree, it has a bent and twisting, angular bole that rarely exceeds 20cm in diameter[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use of its timber and edible fruit.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

Northern S. America - Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela; C. America - Panama to Mexico; through the Caribbean to Florida.

Habitat

An understorey tree of open, well-lit areas, found exclusively within the narrow strip of extreme coastal vegetation[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height12.00 m
PollinatorsBees, insects
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details



The tree flowers and fruits for much of the year[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].
The intact seedpods are buoyant and durable and could be carried considerable distances by ocean currents, thus allowing the tree to spread along coastlines[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
]..

Edible Uses

The white pulp of the fruit, and the seeds, are edible[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
]. The green, ovoid fruits are up to 16cm long by 9cm in diameter, containing a white fleshy pulp that surrounds several black seeds each 3cm in diameter[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].

Medicinal

The tree (fruit?) has medicinal uses[
333
Title
Tree Species of Panama
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
].

Other Uses

The fruit is used to make musical instruments such as the guira (a percussion instrument)[
333
Title
Tree Species of Panama
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
].

The wood is hard and rot-resistant[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-01. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Amphitecna+latifolia>

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