Closely related to Caryocar amygdaliferum, to such a degree that they may be forms of the same taxon[].

Common Name:

General Information

Caryocar costaricense is a large tree growing up to 50 metres tall. The bole has buttresses up to 1.5 metres tall[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine, and the timber is also heavily exploited both locally and traded.
Levels of exploitation of the timber are reported to be high but there are differences in opinion as to whether timber trade is a serious threat to the species[]. Habitat loss has, however, been severe and as a result the tree has been listed as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2009)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Central America - Costa Rica, Panama.

Habitat

Tropical, lowland, moist, non-seasonal, broadleaved, closed forest[]. Scattered populations are also found in lowland evergreen rainforest[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	40.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A tree of moist lowland tropical areas.

Edible Uses

Fruit - cooked[]. The fruit is a large drupe[].

The seed is rich in an oil suitable for culinary purposes[].

Medicinal

The bark has medicinal applications[].

Other Uses

The solid timber is used for constructing bridges, railroad ties etc[].
The heartwood is yellowish to light grayish-brown; it is hardly separable from the sapwood. The texture is medium to rather coarse; the grain interlocked; fresh material has a mild vinegary scent, but there is no discernible odour or taste when dry. The heartwood is rated as very durable in resistance to both brown-rot and white-rot fungi; classified as resistant to dry-wood termites and moderately resistant to marine borers. It is said to be easy to moderately difficult to saw, producing a rapid dulling of cutting edges; radial faces are difficult to finish smoothly because of interlocked grain. The wood is used for general and marine construction, heavy flooring, railway crossties, boat parts, furniture components; it is especially suitable where hardness and high wear resistance are needed[].

Propagation

Seed -

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