Common Name: Barca

General Information

Barca is a large or medium-sized, evergreen tree with thick, dark-coloured bark[]. It usually grows 12 - 28 metres tall with a bole 50 - 80cm in diameter[]. Some specimens have been known to attain a height of 40 metres, with a bole as much as 1 metre in diameter[].
This is one of the most interesting of Central American trees, with an edible latex that can be drunk like milk[]. It also provides an edible fruit and useful wood. The fruit is sometimes sold in local markets[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana; C. America - Panama to Guatemala.

Habitat

Low wet mixed forest, or often seen in cleared pastures, at or a little above sea level[]. A climax tree of the rainforest, found mainly on well-drained sites in upland areas of the Amazon[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	25.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A tree of the lowland humid tropics.
Prefers a shady position

Edible Uses

When the bark is cut or broken, there issues from it a rich creamy latex that is sweet and palatable[, ]. It is not very sticky and may be drunk like cow's milk[].
A latex obtained from the trunk can be used to make chewing gum[].

Fruit - raw[]. The succulent pulp is sweet and extremely glutinous[]. It contains latex[]. The globose, yellow-green fruit is about 6cm in diameter, containing a few seeds[].

An infusion of the leaves is used as a beverage[].

Medicinal

A latex in the stems can be used in the treatment of amoebiasis, including amoebic dysentery[].

Other Uses

A latex exudes from the cut or broken bark. When boiled in water it gives a product similar to gutta-percha that can be used for caulking canoes[].
Gutta-percha is a natural latex obtained from the sap of the tree. Allowing this fluid to evaporate and coagulate in the sun produces a hard and durable latex which can be made flexible again with hot water, but which does not become brittle. Prior to the advent of synthetic materials, gutta-percha had a wide range of uses - most particularly as an insulating material for electricity wiring and for underwater telegraph wires, a purpose for which it is very well suited since it is bio-inert and so is not attacked by marine plants or animals. Gutta-percha can be moulded into any shape and has been used to make items such as ornate furniture, pistol grips, acid-resistant receptacles and ‘mourning’ jewellery, where its dark colour was an advantage. It has been widely used as the core of golf balls and is still used in modern dentistry where its bio-inertness makes it ideal as a temporary filling for teeth and as a filling material inside tooth fillings[, ].

The heartwood is cream-coloured or pale brown, often with a pinkish tinge; there is no sharp demarcation from the sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain fairly straight to inter- locked; luster rather low to medium; odour and taste not distinctive. The wood is light in weight; moderately hard; natural durability is low and the wood is prone to attacks by blue-stain fungi. It is easy to both air dry and kiln dry, with little or no degrade due to warping or checking. The wood is easy to work with all tools, however there is some difficulty to generate smooth surfaces on quarter-sawn stock due to the interlocked grain; it is easy to nail and screw; and generally finishes well. The wood is used for interior millwork, general construction, furniture components, veneer for plywood, particleboard and fiberboard, boxes and crates[, , ].

Propagation

Seed - of short viability, it should be sown as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers[]. A germination rate in excess of 70% can be expected, with the seeds sprouting within 25 - 35 days[].

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