Common Name:

General Information

Trichilia havanensis is a shrub or a small tree growing up to 12 metres tall. The bole can be 20cm in diameter[].
The tree is harvested from the wild to make brushes and for its wood. The branches are sometimes employed as decorations in houses and churches[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Northern S. America - Venezuela, north to the Caribbean and through Central America to Mexico.

Habitat

Dry or moist thickets or mixed forest, often in second growth, at elevations up to 1,500 metres in Guatemala[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The foliage is fragrant.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark is one of the numerous traditional 'remedies' for malaria[].

Other Uses

Brushes can be made from bunches of the leaves tied to the end of a pole[]. These are used to brush coals and ashes from the large adobe ovens[]. The leaves are rather stiff and probably hold up better under heat than those of other plants[]. The use of the foliage of this species for this purpose seems to be common from Guatemala to Costa Rica[].

The yellowish wood is light, soft, very easy to work, not durable[]. It is suitable for making boxes and for general carpentry when protected from the weather. The wood is used traditionally for carving figures of dolls called 'chintas'[].

Propagation

Seed -

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