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Useful Tropical Plants

Dacryodes peruviana

(Loes.) H.J.Lam

Burseraceae

+ Synonyms

Pachylobus peruvianus Loes.

Common Name: Copal

Dacryodes peruviana
Fruits and leaves
Photograph by: A, Gentry
Creative Commons License

General Information

Dacryodes peruviana is an evergreen tree growing up to 20 metres tall.
The tree is harvested from the wild for its wood, which is used locally and also traded.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

412
Title
Illustrated Guide to the Trees of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Pennington, T.D.; Reynel, C. & Daza, A.
Publisher
David Hunt; Sherbourne, England.
Year
2004
ISBN
0 9538134 3 6
Description
A very terse guide to the trees of Peru, managing to give basic guides to a large number of genera, with more detail on a few species in each genus.
,
434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.

Range

S. America - northern Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela.

Habitat

Wet lowland forest on sites not subject to inundation at elevations below 500 metres[
412
Title
Illustrated Guide to the Trees of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Pennington, T.D.; Reynel, C. & Daza, A.
Publisher
David Hunt; Sherbourne, England.
Year
2004
ISBN
0 9538134 3 6
Description
A very terse guide to the trees of Peru, managing to give basic guides to a large number of genera, with more detail on a few species in each genus.
]. Open woods at elevations around 700 metres[
434
Title
Flora of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Macbride. J.F.
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History
Year
1936
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height17.00 m
Self-fertileNo
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details



A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Fruit[
630
Title
Botanical Museum Leaflets Vol 28
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Harvard University; Cambridge, Mass.
Year
1981
ISBN
 
Description
An article on the Ethnopharmacological uses of plants in northwestern S. America, amongst many other articles. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. The fruit of this species is a blackish drupe up to 25mm long and 15mm wide[
412
Title
Illustrated Guide to the Trees of Peru
Publication
 
Author
Pennington, T.D.; Reynel, C. & Daza, A.
Publisher
David Hunt; Sherbourne, England.
Year
2004
ISBN
0 9538134 3 6
Description
A very terse guide to the trees of Peru, managing to give basic guides to a large number of genera, with more detail on a few species in each genus.
].
The flesh of the fruits in this genus usually adheres very strongly to the seed. When placed in hot (but not boiling) water at around 60 - 85°c the fruit softens and swells and all the flesh then slides easily off the seed[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
301
Title
Cornucopia II
Publication
 
Author
Facciola. S.
Publisher
Kampong Publications, California.
Year
1998
ISBN
0-9628087-2-5
Description
The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The heartwood is cream white to pinkish white; it is not clearly demarcated from the 3 - 8cm wide band of greyish white sapwood. The texture is fine; the grain irregular and interlocked. The wood is light in weight, soft to moderately hard; it is not durable, being susceptible to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. The wood seasons normally, with only a slight risk of checking or distortion; once dry it is moderately stable in service. The fairly high silica content of the wood has a high blunting effect, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; there are also difficulties caused by the highly interlocked grain; nailing and screwing are good; gluing is correct; finishing is good. The wood is used for purposes such as interior joinery and panelling, boxes and crates, cheaper furniture, shingles and veneer[
363
Title
Technical Information on 134 Species of Bolivian Woods
Publication
 
Author
USDA Forest Service -- Forest Products Lab
Website
http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/publications/
Publisher
USDA Forest Service
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A PDF file, available for download. Exactly what the title says, brief and to the point.
,
848
Title
Tropix 7
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://tropix.cirad.fr/en
Publisher
CIRAD
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-11. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dacryodes+peruviana>

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