Luehea candida (moc. & Sessé ex Dc.) Mart.

Tree, small, or sometimes large shrub, 5-20 m. high, deciduous, the trunk attain-ing 25-30 cm. in diam., the crown broad, the branchlets ferruginous-arachnoid. Leaves thick-petiolate, the petiole 0.6-1 cm. long, tomentellous, the stipules elliptic, long-acuminate, up to 1.4-2 cm. long and villous-puberulous especially without, the blade broadly elliptic, more or less rounded and sometimes somewhat cordate at the base, acuminate at the apex, 8-22 cm. long and 6-16 cm. wide, the margins coarsely or finely serrate, green and sparsely scabrous above, grayish or whitish and more or less densely arachnoid beneath, 3-palminerved, the nervation prominent especially beneath. Flowers solitary (sometimes geminate?), large, 4.7-5.3 cm. long, the pedicel terete, enlarged at the apex, 1-2 cm. long, tomentellous; bractlets 10-17, more or less long-connate at the base, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, dorsal-carinate, long-acuminate, up to 3.3-4.5 cm. long and 0.5 cm. wide, fleshy, tomentellous without, densely sericeous within, persistent; sepals oblong-lanceolate, shortly con-nate at the base, acute at the apex, up to 4.2-4.6 cm. long and 1.25 cm. wide, fleshy, tomentellous outside, glabrous inside except the sericeous base; petals spatu-late-obovate, acuminate or acute, up to 4.7-5.3 cm. long and 2.5-3 cm. wide, white or cream-colored, glabrous except the hirsute base; stamens shortly 5-adelphous, the phalanges connate into a very short staminal tube, sericeous to hirsute on the lower part; anthers oblong, ca. 2.5 mm. long; ovary shortly stipitate, the gynophore ca. 1 mm. long, ovoid, deeply 5-sulcate, ca. 0.5 cm. long and 0.55 cm. in diam., densely sericeous; style ca. 1.8 cm. long, tomentellous; stigma capitate, obscurely 5-lobulate. Capsule very ligneous, deeply 5-sulcate and prominently 5-angled, rounded at the base, acute at the apex, 6-7 cm. long and ca. 3.5 cm. in diam., tomentellous when young to glabrate when mature; seeds more or less elliptic, flattened, ca. 6 mm. long and 3 mm. wide, the wing 15 mm. long and 6 mm. wide.

Chiefly on dry, brushy or wooded hillsides, ascending to about 1,800 metres, but more commonly below 900 metres. Often forming dense stands on rocky hillsides or along sandy and rocky stream beds.

The fruit are roasted and eaten as a meal.

Can be grown by seedlings.