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Useful Tropical Plants

Lecythis tuyrana

Pittier

Lecythidaceae

+ Synonyms

Chytroma glossiniformis R.Knuth

Lecythis calycocarpa Novik

Lecythis elata Dwyer

Lecythis melliana Pittier

Common Name:

Lecythis tuyrana
Seedpod
Photograph by: A. Gentry
Creative Commons License
Lecythis tuyrana Lecythis tuyrana Lecythis tuyrana

General Information

Lecythis tuyrana is an evergreen tree that can grow to around 30 metres tall. The straight bole can be free of branches for around 8 metres and up to 80cm in diameter[
551
Title
A Century of Trees of Panama.
Publication
 
Author
Pittier H. Mell C.D.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A work that was very difficult to get published according to the correspondence contained at the start!. A treatment of 100 different species with descriptions and details of uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
,
870
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Volume 45
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis
Year
1958
ISBN
 
Description
A botanical journal. This edition includes a part of the Flora of Panama.. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of wod. It is sometimes planted for ornament[
870
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Volume 45
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis
Year
1958
ISBN
 
Description
A botanical journal. This edition includes a part of the Flora of Panama.. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

870
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Volume 45
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis
Year
1958
ISBN
 
Description
A botanical journal. This edition includes a part of the Flora of Panama.. It can be downloaded from the Internet.

Range

S. America - Ecuador, Colombia; C. America - Panama.

Habitat

Lowland forests[
870
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Volume 45
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden; St. Louis
Year
1958
ISBN
 
Description
A botanical journal. This edition includes a part of the Flora of Panama.. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. Alluvial floodplains[
551
Title
A Century of Trees of Panama.
Publication
 
Author
Pittier H. Mell C.D.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A work that was very difficult to get published according to the correspondence contained at the start!. A treatment of 100 different species with descriptions and details of uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height25.00 m
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

The pot-like fruit contains about 10 large nuts that are equal, if not superior, to the best varieties of Brazil nuts. When fresh, however, these nuts act as a strong laxative, for which reason they are shunned by local people[
551
Title
A Century of Trees of Panama.
Publication
 
Author
Pittier H. Mell C.D.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A work that was very difficult to get published according to the correspondence contained at the start!. A treatment of 100 different species with descriptions and details of uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. The seeds are about 60mm long and 20 - 25mm wide[
871
Title
Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol 26
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Smithsonian Institution; Washington
Year
1940
ISBN
 
Description
A botanical Journal, it includes a treatment of the Lecythidaceae. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Medicinal

The fresh nuts are strongly laxative[
551
Title
A Century of Trees of Panama.
Publication
 
Author
Pittier H. Mell C.D.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A work that was very difficult to get published according to the correspondence contained at the start!. A treatment of 100 different species with descriptions and details of uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Other Uses

The heartwood varies from a light yellowish to a reddish brown; the thick band of sapwood is yellowish white. The wood is cross and more or less coarse-grained; moderately hard; heavy; strong; and tough, It splits and cuts with difficulty, but takes a fairly good polish. It is little used[
551
Title
A Century of Trees of Panama.
Publication
 
Author
Pittier H. Mell C.D.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A work that was very difficult to get published according to the correspondence contained at the start!. A treatment of 100 different species with descriptions and details of uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
We have no more specific information on the wood of this species. A general description of the wood from this genus is as follows:-
The heartwood is light to dark salmon; the sapwood is creamy-yellow. The texture is medium fine and uniform; the grain fairly straight or slightly interlocked; lustre is mostly low but high in some species; there is no distinctive odour or taste. the wood is reported to be very durable upon exposure to both a white-rot and a brown-rot fungus confirming its reputation for high resistance to decay; it is also highly resistant to dry-wood termites and is reported to be moderately resistant to marine borer attack. It is rated as easy to moderately difficult to air season, depending on species; a slow to rapid drying rate is reported; warp and checking ranged from slight to moderate. The wood is moderately difficult to work because of its high density; however, surfaces obtained in planing, boring, sawing, and shaping were smooth and rated as good to excellent. Silica content varies with species and dulling of cutters is also variable. The wood is used for purposes such as heavy construction, ship keels and beams, railroad crossties, industrial flooring and other uses requiring high impact resistance (wagon wheels, tool handles), turnery[
316
Title
Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607.
Publication
 
Author
Chudnoff. Martin.
Publisher
USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin.
Year
1984
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-04. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Lecythis+tuyrana>

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