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Useful Tropical Plants

Lacmellea panamensis

(Woodson) Markgr.

Apocynaceae

+ Synonyms

Zschokkea panamensis Woodson

Common Name:

Lacmellea panamensis
Looking op the thorny trunk into the canopy
Photograph by: Reinaldo Aguilar
Creative Commons License
Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis Lacmellea panamensis

General Information

Lacmellea panamensis is an evergreen tree with a thick but narrow, bright green crown; it can grow 15 - 20 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be up to 45cm in diameter, armed with broad-based, conical thorns. The bole of larger trees can have low, rounded, short buttresses. The bole is frequently covered by colonies of blue-grey lichens[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].
The trees are harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of latex and wood.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

961
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 57
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; Missouri.
Year
1970
ISBN
 
Description
A botanical journal with a range of articles. It can be downloaded from the Internet/

Range

S. America - Ecuador, Colombia; C. America - Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua

Habitat

An understorey or subcanopy tree, growing on well-drained soils in a range of conditions but mainly in the deep shade of dense, primary forest[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height15.00 m
PollinatorsBees, Butterflies, Hawkmoths
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details



The plant has a main period of flowering, but also flowers sporadically throughout the year. The fruits ripen slowly and sporadically, with a few falling to the ground sporadically thoughout the year as they become fully ripe[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].
All parts of the plant exude a thick white latex when broken[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].

Edible Uses

Fruit[
333
Title
Tree Species of Panama
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
]. The fruit is a yellow, spherical berry around 4cm in diameter, containing 2 seeds[
333
Title
Tree Species of Panama
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
].

The latex has been used as a milk substitute in coffee[
333
Title
Tree Species of Panama
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
].

Medicinal

The latex is used as a galactagogue to promote milk production in nursing mothers[
333
Title
Tree Species of Panama
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
].

Other Uses

We have no specific information for this species, but the latexes of several South American species of Lacmellea have been used as chewing gum, as an additive to rubber, and as a milk substitute in coffee[
510
Title
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
].

The wood is hard and of fine quality. It has many uses[
333
Title
Tree Species of Panama
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-05. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Lacmellea+panamensis>

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