Alexa grandiflora
Alexa grandiflora
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Seedlings can tolerate considerable shade but need increasing amounts of light as they grow, eventually requiring moderate to full sun[1]. Requires a well-drained soil, succeeding in sandy to clayey conditions[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[1]. Young plants have a moderate rate of growth[1]. Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen[2].
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers. A high germination rate can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 7 - 14 days[1]. When the seedbed-sown seedlings are 5 - 6cm tall, pot them up into individual containers and they should be ready to plant out 6 - 7 months later[1]. Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[PFAF]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Alexa+grandiflora>
Pollinators
Bees
References
- [1]Brazilian Trees. Volume 2. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-15-1 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
- [2]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
- [3]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎