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Useful Tropical Plants

Licaria campechiana

(Standl.) Kosterm.

Lauraceae

+ Synonyms

Acrodiclidium campechianum (Standl.) Lundell

Chanekia campechiana (Standl.) Lundell

Misanteca campechiana (Standl.) Lundell

Ocotea campechiana Standl.

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Licaria campechiana is a large shrub, or more commonly a tree; it usually grows from 8 - 25 metres tall. The bole can be 45cm in diameter[
331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
].
The wood is suitable for general construction, but is only available in small quantities and so is only used locally[
331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

C. America - Belize, Guatemala, southern Mexico.

Habitat

Dense or rather thin, moist or wet forest or thickets, often or usually on limestone, at elevations up to 1,400 metres[
331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
].

Properties

Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitTree
Height12.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The reddish-brown wood is rather fine-textured, lustrous, hard, heavy, and strong. It is apparently suited for general construction[
331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
].
We have no more information on the wood of this species. However, a general description of the wood in this genus is as follows:-
The heartwood is orange or brown-yellow when freshly cut, darkening on exposure to yellowish-brown or coffee-brown and sometimes with a tinge of red or violet; the sapwood is light yellowish-brown. The texture is fine to medium; grain straight to slightly interlocked; lustre moderate; there is a fragrant odour from the fresh wood, most of which is lost on drying. The wood has an excellent resistance to both brown-rot and white-rot fungi; it is also rated very high resistance to dry-wood termites, but there is little resistance to attack by marine borers. Air seasoning characteristics are variable depending upon the source and the species, ranging from easy to season to moderately difficult; warp is slight but checking can be severe. The high density material is difficult to work but cuts smoothly; it tends to splinter in boring; it requires care in gluing; takes an excellent finish. The wood is used for making furniture, turnery, boat building, heavy construction, and parquet flooring[
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. 2024-04-30. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Licaria+campechiana>

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