WorldFloraDB - Calatola costaricensis

Characteristics

Trees 6-15 m tall; branches minutely pubescent to glabrate. Leaves with petioles 2-5 cm long; blades oblong to elliptic-oblong, 10-25 cm long, 4.5-10.5 cm wide, appressed-pubescent becoming glabrate except in the axils of the veins, the apex short-acuminate to obtuse, the base acute, the primary veins 6-8 pairs. Staminate spikes to 13 cm long; rachis and calyx hirsute. Pistillate flowers un-known. Drupes ellipsoid to subglobose, 4-6.5 cm long, 3.5-4.0 cm in diam., rounded or obtuse at both ends, stone (putamen) drying bicrestate with several sharp longitudinal crests, with less prominent transverse reticulate ridges; seed 1.

More

A tree. It grows 15 m tall. The trunk has low branches. The crown is dense. The leaves are simple and alternate. The leaves are oblong and 10-25 cm long. The flowers are small and green or white. Trees are separately male and female. The fruit is fleshy with a bony layer around the seed. This is 7 cm long.

Life form	-
Growth form	tree
Growth support	free-standing
Foliage retention	evergreen
Sexuality	hermaphrodite
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Mature width (meter)	-
Mature height (meter)	10.5 - 15.0
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Nitrogen fixer	-
Photosynthetic pathway	c3

Environment

It is a tropical plant. In Costa Rica it grows from sea level to 2,000 m altitude. It grows in lower mountain and wet forests.

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Usage

The seed is best roasted then eaten. Caution: It can cause nausea if eaten raw or in large amounts.

Uses	-
Edible	nuts seeds
Therapeutic use	-
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Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. Seed will float in the sea for 1 year but may not grow after this.

Mode	seedlings
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