Colvillea racemosa
Colvillea racemosa
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the drier lowland tropics and subtropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 300 metres. It grows wild in areas where the mean annual rainfall is up to 700mm, occasionally to 1,200mm, with 7 - 9 dry months; and the mean annual temperature is between 24.5 - 27°c[1]. Plants can tolerate light frosts. Grows best in a sunny position[2]. Established plants are drought tolerant. Young trees grow fairly rapidly. A mean annual bole diameter increment of 7 - 14mm has been reached during the first 10 years after planting[1].
Propagation
Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and, unless sown when fresh and still moist, may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up 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. When seedlings are raised in the nursery, they can be planted into the field after 6 - 12 months when they are 50 - 100cm tall[1]. When transplanting, clipping the lateral roots is advised. Direct sowing into the field is also practised[1]. The fruits are collected from the tree or the ground when they have become dry and blackish. The seeds are extracted manually and non-viable seeds are separated by floating in water. Viable seeds are dried in the sun. The seeds can be stored for up to 4 years and still achieve a germination rate of 50 - 70%[1]. Propagation by cuttings has been successful. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Colvillea+racemosa>
Pollinators
Sunbirds
References
- [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
- [2]Dominica Botanic Gardens — http://www.da-academy.org/trees_shrubs.html ↩︎An on-line resource, providing top quality pictures and some basic information on various plants being grown at the Botanic Gardens, often including uses and habitat.
- [3]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.