Common Name:

General Information

Guatteria citriodora is an evergreen shrub or tree with a narrow, pyramidal or columnar crown; it can grow 15 - 20 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be 5 - 50cm in diameter[, ].
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a source of fibre and wood.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas.

Habitat

Rainforest, preferring the more open secondary growth areas and low-fertility, well-drained sandy to clayey soils, in areas not subject to inundation[, ]. Also occasionally found in gallery forest and campinarana, at elevations to 400 metres[]

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	18.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Beetles
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in full sun and also in moderate shade[]. Grows in the wild mainly in well-drained, low-fertility, sandy soils, but also found in clayey soils[, ]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
A slow-growing plant[].
Plants can flower and produce fruit all year round[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A fibre is obtained from the inner bark. It can be used to make ropes[].

The wood is medium-textured, moderately heavy, soft, with poor mechanical properties and not very durable. Easy to work with, the wood is only used locally for light construction and making boxes[].
The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Sow the seed in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed. A low germination rate can be expected for untreated seeds, with the seed sprouting within 40 - 60 days[].

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