Terminalia amazonia Exell In Pulle

Species

Angiosperms > Myrtales > Combretaceae > Terminalia

Characteristics

Deciduous tree (4-)10-60(-70) m, with plank buttresses, sometimes branching, up to 3 m high and up to 2 m from trunk. Leaves chartaceous to subcoriaceous, usually obovate, less often obovate-oblong or-elliptic or narrowly so, (2-)4-10(-15) x 2-5(-6.5) cm, apex rounded to acute or gradually or abruptly acuminate, base cuneate to attenuate-cuneate, glabrous to sparsely pubescent above, subglabrous to pubescent except usually pubescent on main veins below; domatia pocket-shaped or bowl-shaped; venation eucamptodromous or eucamptodromous-brochidodromous, midvein moderate, prominent, secondary veins 3-5 pairs, distant, originating at moderately or sometimes widely acute angles, curved, prominent, intersecondary veins usually absent, tertiary veins closely and very regularly and conspicuously percurrent; higher order veins occasionally distinct; areolation imperfect or incomplete, slightly prominent petiole 0.2-1.5 cm long, eglandular or biglandular (sometimes more). Inflorescence 5-24 cm long, simple, all flowers bisexual or some to many with reduced female parts; peduncle 1-3 cm long, appressed-pubescent; rhachis 4-21 cm long, appressed-pubescent. Flowers 5-merous, 2.5-4 x 2.5-3.5 mm; lower hypanthium 1.5-2 mm long, densely appressed-or sometimes patent-pubescent, upper hypanthium shallowly campanulate to shallowly infundibuliform, 0.5-1 mm long, appressed-pubescent or sparsely so; calyx lobes suberect to patent, 0.3-0.8 mm long, appressed-pubescent or sparsely so; stamens 2-4 mm long; disk subglabrous to pilose; style 2.5-3.5 mm long, glabrous. Infructescence with numerous fruits disposed along whole length of rhachis; fruit usually straw-coloured, pubescent to sparsely pubescent, 0.5-0.7(-1) x 0.8-1.8(-2.2) cm, variously flattened, transverselyoblong in side view, apex truncate but shortly beaked, base truncate or slightly retuse but sometimes very shortly pseudostipitate, wings 2-5, flexible, unequal, 2 lateral ones 0.3-1 cm wide, rounded or narrowly rounded laterally, the other 3 varying from strong ridges to wings up to 2 mm wide, body 0.15-0.35 cm wide, bulging and keeled to winged on both faces.
More
Large tree up to 30 m. high with buttresses and sympodial branching. Branch-lets rufous-pilose or rufous-sericeous, soon glabrescent. Leaves chartaceous to subcoriaceous, spirally arranged in pseudo-verticels at the ends of the branchlets, petiolate, petiole 1-10 mm. long, rufous-pubescent, lamina obovate or cuneate, abruptly acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base usually with two glands, 5-10 X 3.5 cm., usually rather sparsely appressed-pubescent or appressed-pilose with hairy domatia in the axils of the principal veins beneath. Flowers white, cream or yellowish-green, apparently all perfect, 5-merous, sessile, in axillary spikes 6-7 cm. long, rhachis tomentellous. Lower receptacle 2-2.5 mm. long, sericeous; upper receptacle shallow-cupuliform, 0.8 X 2 mm., appressed-pubescent. Calyx-lobes deltoid, 0.8 mm. long, usually not reflexed. Stamens 10, filaments 1.8-2 mm. long, anthers subglobose, 0.4 mm. in diam. Disk densely pilose. Style 2 mm. long, glabrous. Fruit about 5 X 10 mm., sparsely pubescent, 5-winged, two wings transversely elongated to about 5 mm., the other three usually rudimentary (or vestigial) not more than 1 mm. in width.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 30.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) 1.3
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Wet forest or open savannahs at elevations up to 300 metres in Guatemala. It can grow in swamps as well as on the lower parts of slopes.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Use: An important timber known as Nargusta or Roble Coral in the international trade.
Uses material medicinal timber wood
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Terminalia amazonia leaf picture by SINAC Pérez Greivin (cc-by-sa)
Terminalia amazonia leaf picture by David Rodriguez (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Terminalia amazonia world distribution map, present in Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Mexico, and Panama

Conservation status

Terminalia amazonia threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:250537-2
WFO ID wfo-0000406977
COL ID 45D3H
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 733062
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Terminalia amazonia Myrobalanus excelsa Terminalia excelsa Buceras angustifolia Gimbernatia amazonia Terminalia odontoptera Myrobalanus obovatus Chuncoa obovata Bucida buceras var. angustifolia Chuncoa obovata Chuncoa amazonia Bucida angustifolia