Couroupita guianensis Aubl.

Cannonball tree (en), Calabasse colin (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Ericales > Lecythidaceae > Couroupita

Characteristics

A large tree. It can be 25-30 m tall. It has a large spreading crown. The trunk is dark brown. It looses its leaves during the year. The wood is soft. The leaves are simple and alternate. They are oval and broader at the base. They are 15-20 cm long by 5-7 cm wide. The flowers grow directly on the trunk. They are on small branches. They hang down. The flowers are red and 10 cm across. They have large numbers of stamens arranged in 2 groups. One of these is in the flower centre and the other is on a lower petal. The fruit is large and the size of a cannon ball. They can be 25 cm across. Large numbers of fruit hang on stalks around the trunk. These stalks can be 15-30 cm long. The fruit have a soft fleshy centre. The fruit are edible but have a bad smell. The flesh is red. The fruit often burst explosively when they fall from the tree.
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This species is easily recognized by the large round fruits of 10-15 cm diam. borne on the branches and trunk. The androecium, bearing numerous sterile stamens, has a more open hood than that of Bertholletia and it is also over the ring of fertile stamens. The leaves of this species are grouped at the ends of the branches in a similar way to many species of Barringtonia.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 20.0 - 25.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) 0.6
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is native to tropical America. A tropical plant. It is very sensitive to frost. Plants need lots of water and humidity. It grows on flood plains. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It suits plant hardiness zones 11-12.
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Along the sides of rivers and in swampy areas at elevations below 500 metres in Peru.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-11

Usage

The pulp is eaten and made into a beveridge.
Uses environmental use fiber material medicinal wood
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use Anthelmintics (bark), Malaria (bark), Anthelmintics (flower), Malaria (flower), Anthelmintics (fruit), Headache (fruit), Malaria (fruit), Hair loss (leaf), Anthelmintics (leaf), Antifungal agents (leaf), Malaria (leaf), Depilatory (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Dermatosis(Veterinary) (unspecified), Abdominal pain (whole plant), Anti-bacterial agents (whole plant), Antifungal agents (whole plant), Anti-infective agents, local (whole plant), Common cold (whole plant), Malaria (whole plant), Toothache (whole plant), Wounds and injuries (whole plant)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. The fruit are cracked open and the seeds removed, washed and dried in the sun. Germination is slow. Fresh seed should be planted. They germinate in 8-15 days and can be transplanted in 5-7 months.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Couroupita guianensis habit picture by Gabriel Ollivier (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Couroupita guianensis leaf picture by Vieira do Nascimento Paulo (cc-by-sa)
Couroupita guianensis leaf picture by Mata-Montero Erick (cc-by-sa)
Couroupita guianensis leaf picture by Pierre Bonnet (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Couroupita guianensis flower picture by Daniel Barthelemy (cc-by-nc)
Couroupita guianensis flower picture by diaz sosa (cc-by-sa)
Couroupita guianensis flower picture by Gabriel Ollivier (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Couroupita guianensis fruit picture by Hemptinne Axel (cc-by-sa)
Couroupita guianensis fruit picture by Daniel Barthelemy (cc-by-nc)
Couroupita guianensis fruit picture by Daniel Barthelemy (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Couroupita guianensis world distribution map, present in Andorra, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Conservation status

Couroupita guianensis threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:592385-1
WFO ID wfo-0000775148
COL ID YZP8
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 447275
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Couroupita saintcroixiana Couroupita antillana Lecythis bracteata Pekea couroupita Couroupita froesii Couroupita venezuelensis Couratari pedicellaris Couroupita idolica Couroupita membranacea Couroupita peruviana Couroupita surinamensis Couroupita guianensis var. surinamensis Couroupita acreensis Couroupita guianensis