Common Name: West Indian Locust

General Information

Hymenaea courbaril is a noble, evergreen tree with massive spreading branches and a heavy, umbrella-shaped crown. It grows slowly, but can reach an eventual height of 30 metres, with some specimens up to 45 metres[, , ]. The straight, cylindrical bole can be unbranched for 12 - 24 metres and is usually 60 - 120cm in diameter, though specimens up to 150cm have been recorded[]. Although the trees are usually evergreen, they can shed their leaves in a drought[].
A very important multi-purpose tree, it is harvested from the wild as a local source of food, medicines and various commodities. It is exploited commercially for its timber and gum; is sometimes cultivated and encouraged to grow semi-wild as a food crop[]; and has also been planted as an ornamental in parks all over the tropical world[]. It has limited ornamental use as a shade tree in parks and on streets because the heavy seed pods emit an offensive odour as they mature and can cause damage or injury when they fall[].
This taxon has a wide range and is considered to be common. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas; C. America - Panama to southern Mexico; Caribbean.

Habitat

Found in a wide range of habitats including tropical dry forest, transition to premontane moist forest, and tropical wet forest as well as subtropical moist forest[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	30.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Bats
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Hymenaea courbaril grows well in lowland tropical and subtropical areas up to an elevation of aroud 900 metres[]. It prefers a mean annual temperature in the range 20 - 30°c, with a mean annual rainfall of 1,500 - 3,000mm, which can be evenly distributed through the year or monsoonal[]. It can tolerate 4 months or more of drought[, ].
Young plants can tolerate some shade but require more sun as they grow with mature plants requiring a position in full sun[, ]. Tolerates and will grow on all textures of soil from sand to clay but develops best on deep, fertile, moist and well-drained sandy soils[, ]. Tolerates poor fertility soils and waterlogging[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[]. Succeeds in a pH in the range 4.8 - 6.8[, ]. The tree develops best when grown on ridges or slopes and high riverbanks[].
Young plants usually grow at an angle with a drooping leader for their first 2 - 3 years, before straightening up and developing a straight bole[].
Trees generally have a moderate rate of growth - in a good site they were up to 11 metres tall after 13 years, though in a poorer site that were only up to 9 metres after 20 years[].
The plant commences fruiting when 8 - 12 years of age, so long as it is receiving full overhead light[, ].
A few to more than 100 pods are produced each year, though only part of a tree produces fruit in any one year[].
Planting in the open, for shade and ornamental purposes, produces attractive and spreading trees more rapidly[].
Planting near buildings is not recommended because of the plant's spreading roots, gum producion and malodorous fruits[].
Coppices well and thus maintains itself in frequently cut-over areas; however stumps of large trees do not coppice[, ].
There are conflicting reports on whether or not this tree has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, so it is unclear as to whether this tree fixes atmospheric nitrogen[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. The dry, whitish-yellow pulp around the seed has a sweet flavour and is commonly eaten raw; it is also used in making custards and ice cream; and is fermented into an alcoholic beverage[]. It is eaten like sweets by children in Jamaica[]. The protein content is high for a fruit[].
The pulp contains 3.2% sugar, 1.1% fat, and 35.8% crude fibre[]. It has its own peculiar smell and sweet flavour, slightly reminiscent of bananas, and is generally considered pleasant but not very attractive[]. The texture is that of dry flour turning to a paste in the mouth, and some people find this unpleasant[]. It is very dry and largely starchy, so it is a good source of calories[]. The fruit is an indehiscent oblong pod (legume), 5 - 15cm long and 3 - 5cm wide, containing 3 - 4 large seeds which are surrounded by a dry, whitish-yellow, edible pulp[, ].

A tea made from the bark is a quite popular drink for lumberjacks working in the forests in Brazil, because it is a natural energy tonic[].

Medicinal

The bark is analgesic, astringent, balsamic, depurative, febrifuge, haemostatic, pectoral, stomachic, tonic and vermifuge[, , ]. It is commonly used in local folk medicine as a cure-all, being especially useful for coughs. Besides being used to give energy and stamina, a tea made from the bark has been used for centuries as a tonic for the respiratory and urinary systems by the indigenous people of the Amazon Basin. The tea is also used internally to treat stomach problems and back pains, as well as externally for athlete’s foot and foot fungus[, ]. It is known for its ability to fight fungus and yeast infections such as Candida albicans[]. The macerated bark is used as a treatment for diarrhoea[].

The bark, sap or resin, and leaves are used medicinally in the treatment of cystitis, hepatitis, prostatitis and cough[].

The sap is used for treating coughs and bronchitis[].
The resin and sap exuding from bore-holes in the bark is considered fortifying[]. It is used for treating chronic cystitis, urine retention, anaemia, prostatitis, blennorrhagia and chronic bronchitis[].
The resin and sap are used externally for treating fresh wounds[, ].

The solid resin found at the base of the tree is balsamic, bechic, stomachic, tonic and vermifuge[].

The fruit has a mild laxative effect[]. It is also used to treat mouth ulcers[].

The leaves and wood are used in the treatment of diabetes[].

Other Uses

The roots and trunk yield a pale yellow or red resin-like gum known commercially as 'South American copal'[, ]. The gum obtained from tapping the trunk is soft and considered to be of lower quality[] - it is used mainly for medicinal purposes[]. The best quality gum is quite old - it is found in hard lumps that have become buried in the soil at the base of a tree or at the site of a dead tree. Sometimes as much as a barrel of gum has been found around the roots of a large tree or at the site of a former tree. The gum is used mainly in making varnishes but also for incense and local medicines[, ]. The copal is also used for patent leather, as an adhesive for crockery and in stains for tin ware[, ]. About 35 tonnes/year are collected in Brazil for local use[].

The thick bark is a good source of tannin[, ].

The sap is burned as an illuminant[].

The bark was traditionally used to make lightweight canoes[]. The bark of old trees is thick and can be removed in long sheets. The stripped bark is then sown together at the ends and the seams waterproofed with a gum. A few wooden crosspieces are added in order to maintain the shape. Large canoes, capable of carrying 25 - 30 people can be made this way[].

The hard, durable, tough wood is one of the best from the region. The heartwood is salmon pink to orange-brown when fresh, becoming russet to reddish-brown when seasoned, often marked with dark streaks; it is clearly demarcated from the 3 - 12cm wide band of white, grey, or pinkish sapwood. Texture is medium to rather coarse; grain mostly interlocked; lustre is golden; it is without distinctive odour or taste. The wood is heavy to very heavy; hard to very hard; elastic; durable, even in contact with the soil, being resistant to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons normally, with only a slight risk of checking and distortion; once dry it is moderately stable to stable in service. The wood has a fairly high blunting effect, stellite-tipped and tungsten carbide tools are recommended; except in planing, it can be machined to a smooth surface; nailing and screwing are good, but require pre-boring; gluing is correct for interior use only, but needs to be done with care because of the density of the wood. The wood has a wide range of applications, including for high class furniture, cabinet making, construction, heavy duty flooring, ship building, carving, turnery, tool handles etc[, ].
The wood is used as a fuel and to make charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - freshly sown, still moist seed does not require pre-treatment, but if the seedcoat has dried and hardened then it will require some treatment to help it absorb moisture more rapidly. This can be done by soaking the seed for 12 hours in warm water - if it swells it can be sown, otherwise carefully nick the seedcoat, making sure not to damage the embryo, then soak for a few hours more before sowing[]. Sow the seed in light shade in individual containers or a nursery seedbed. Treated seed usually starts to sprout after 8 - 12 days at an optimal temperature of 30°c[]. A germination rate of 40 - 90% can be expected[]. Seedlings grow better in a sunny position than in shade and are ready to plant out within 60 days from germination[].
Seed can be stored for a year or more at 2 - 4°c in a sealed container[].
Softwood cuttings in misted beds with steam or electrically heated soil[].

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