Fruit trees we are looking for
Hymenaea
Hymenaea L
Kingdom Plantae
Family Fabaceae
Hymenaea L. is a genus of flowering plant of the family Fabaceae (legumes). It has fourteen current species, all native to tropical America, except one, Hymenaea verrucosa, which comes from the east African coast. Some authors place this particular species in a monotypic genus, Trachylobium1. In the Neotropical Ecozone, Hymenaea is distributed in the islands of the Caribbean and southern Mexico in Brazil. Carl von Linné named the genus in 1753 in his book Species Plantarum after Hymenaios, the ancient Greek god of marriage ceremonies, in reference to his paired leaflets.
In Colombia, these trees are called algarrobo and in Peru azúcar huayo. Their Brazilian name is jatobá.
Most Hymenaea are tall trees, usually with evergreen foliage. They can reach 25 m and emerge among the trees of the canopy. Some species become large forest trees or remain small bushy shrubs depending on their habitat. The leaves are pinnate bifolié, that is to say they have two leaflets attached on both sides of their petiole. The flowers form panicle or highbush inflorescences, depending on the species.
Uses and properties:
The pulpy center of the fruits is edible; it contains starch. These fruits are sold on the markets of the Americas. The leaves are eaten as infusions. The wood is dense, used to make boats and furniture. The thick bark of some species is used by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon to build canoes. The seeds contain a high proportion (40% of the dry extract) of an extremely viscous polysaccharide, xyloglucan, which can be used in certain fields such as the food industry, the paper industry, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
These trees also produce a hard resin used as varnish, especially that of the courbaril (Hymenaea courbaril, jatobá in Brazil). The resin produced in Brazil is known as the South American copal, and Hymenaea verrucosa provides the precious copal of Zanzibar. The resin is collected on live trees, or on the soil they have occupied. In America, natives use this resin as incense or as cement. The resin of the prehistoric species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber, and the prehistoric species Hymenaea mexicana is that of Mexican amber.
In addition, the ground bark of this tree can be used by insufflation to open the nasal passages according to some aboriginal practices.
Hymenaea courbaril has been used as a model organism for the study of the effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 levels on photosynthesis in neotropical regions. When the CO2 concentration is raised from a reference level of 360 ppm to 720 ppm, its assimilation by seedlings doubles. This suggests that the species may play an important role in the sequestration of carbon dioxide, whose atmospheric concentration could reach about 700 ppm by 2075, if fossil fuel consumption is maintained at its current level.
The formation of the seedling is governed by the use of xyloglucan. Seeds germinate after about 18 days and start using after 45 days. This lasts about 20 days, until photosynthesis is in place and the seedling becomes independent. One of the signs of this use is the redness of young leaves due to the presence of anthocyanins. In the tropical rainforest, seedlings use 70% of their carbon in their aerial parts, while in the savannas, 70% of the carbon absorbed is used for root development.
Hymenaea are important species in the regeneration programs of the degraded wet tropical forests of the Neotropical Ecozone. Hymenaea courbaril appears late in the ecological succession and is considered as a species of end of succession or as a species of climax.
Use :
The fruit is eaten fresh and used to make drinks.
The bark of the trunk decoction is used to relieve rheumatism and arthritis, to treat diarrhea and as a dewormer.
Seed oil is used as a laxative.
The trunk resin serves as a fungicide and also incense and varnish.
The wood is used in cabinetmaking.
Kingdom Plantae
Family Fabaceae
Hymenaea L. is a genus of flowering plant of the family Fabaceae (legumes). It has fourteen current species, all native to tropical America, except one, Hymenaea verrucosa, which comes from the east African coast. Some authors place this particular species in a monotypic genus, Trachylobium1. In the Neotropical Ecozone, Hymenaea is distributed in the islands of the Caribbean and southern Mexico in Brazil. Carl von Linné named the genus in 1753 in his book Species Plantarum after Hymenaios, the ancient Greek god of marriage ceremonies, in reference to his paired leaflets.
In Colombia, these trees are called algarrobo and in Peru azúcar huayo. Their Brazilian name is jatobá.
Most Hymenaea are tall trees, usually with evergreen foliage. They can reach 25 m and emerge among the trees of the canopy. Some species become large forest trees or remain small bushy shrubs depending on their habitat. The leaves are pinnate bifolié, that is to say they have two leaflets attached on both sides of their petiole. The flowers form panicle or highbush inflorescences, depending on the species.
Uses and properties:
The pulpy center of the fruits is edible; it contains starch. These fruits are sold on the markets of the Americas. The leaves are eaten as infusions. The wood is dense, used to make boats and furniture. The thick bark of some species is used by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon to build canoes. The seeds contain a high proportion (40% of the dry extract) of an extremely viscous polysaccharide, xyloglucan, which can be used in certain fields such as the food industry, the paper industry, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
These trees also produce a hard resin used as varnish, especially that of the courbaril (Hymenaea courbaril, jatobá in Brazil). The resin produced in Brazil is known as the South American copal, and Hymenaea verrucosa provides the precious copal of Zanzibar. The resin is collected on live trees, or on the soil they have occupied. In America, natives use this resin as incense or as cement. The resin of the prehistoric species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber, and the prehistoric species Hymenaea mexicana is that of Mexican amber.
In addition, the ground bark of this tree can be used by insufflation to open the nasal passages according to some aboriginal practices.
Hymenaea courbaril has been used as a model organism for the study of the effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 levels on photosynthesis in neotropical regions. When the CO2 concentration is raised from a reference level of 360 ppm to 720 ppm, its assimilation by seedlings doubles. This suggests that the species may play an important role in the sequestration of carbon dioxide, whose atmospheric concentration could reach about 700 ppm by 2075, if fossil fuel consumption is maintained at its current level.
The formation of the seedling is governed by the use of xyloglucan. Seeds germinate after about 18 days and start using after 45 days. This lasts about 20 days, until photosynthesis is in place and the seedling becomes independent. One of the signs of this use is the redness of young leaves due to the presence of anthocyanins. In the tropical rainforest, seedlings use 70% of their carbon in their aerial parts, while in the savannas, 70% of the carbon absorbed is used for root development.
Hymenaea are important species in the regeneration programs of the degraded wet tropical forests of the Neotropical Ecozone. Hymenaea courbaril appears late in the ecological succession and is considered as a species of end of succession or as a species of climax.
Use :
The fruit is eaten fresh and used to make drinks.
The bark of the trunk decoction is used to relieve rheumatism and arthritis, to treat diarrhea and as a dewormer.
Seed oil is used as a laxative.
The trunk resin serves as a fungicide and also incense and varnish.
The wood is used in cabinetmaking.