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Calophyllum brasiliense
Calophyllaceae FAMILY

Calophyllum brasiliense

Calophyllum brasiliense

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The fruit is poisonous[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

Brazil beauty leaf grows in the moister lowland and lower montane areas of the tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 15 - 38°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 6,000mm, but tolerates 1,200 - 7,000mm[2]. Succeeds in full sun or partial shade[1]. A very tolerant plant, it occurs in nearly all the soil types[3]. It seems to grow best on wet, humid, sites, but also grows well on pure sand and rock sandstone[3]. In Puerto Rico, it occurs naturally on the north coast on sandy soils of the orders inceptisols, oxisols and alfisols. It has been planted on deep clays and serpentine soils in the mountains, and in shallow limestone soils near the coast. It does well on degraded sites, and is very resistant to salt and salt-laden winds[3, 4, 1]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[1]. Prefers a pH in the range , tolerating [2]. Some trees bear fruit when only 3 years old[3].

Propagation

Seed - the tough endocarp inhibits water uptake and so germination will be hastened if this is broken with a hammer prior to sowing[3]. Fresh seeds can be sown in situ directly into the soil, or in a seedbed. Average germination is about 70%[3]. Seedlings transplant successfully when they are moved with a ball of earth, a task best carried out in the rainy season[3]. Seeds stored for 1 year in a dry room have germinated fairly well[3]. Fruits should not be stored at a temperature below 0°c., and the water content of the fruit should not be lower than 35%[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Calophyllum+brasiliense>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida — University of Florida · http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/ ↩︎PDF fact sheets on over 500 shrubs.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  4. [4]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  5. [5]Present and Potential Commercial Timbers of the Caribbean — Longwood.F.R. · USDA Forest Service; Washington, DC. · 1962 ↩︎Quite detailed information on more than 60 species of Caribbean timber trees, giving species descriptions, habitat, detailed info on the wood and some info on other uses. Available for download on the internet.
  6. [6]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  7. [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.