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Geoffroea decorticans
Fabaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Geoffroea decorticans

Geoffroea decorticans

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthMedium

Geoffroea decorticans is a plant of tropical and subtropical areas, often growing in areas where there can be no rainfall for a year or more (it can tap into underground water, and also found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is up to 1,350mm)[1, 2]. It can tolerate some freezing, but it is not a cold climate plant, growing best in regions where the mean annual temperature is within the range 20 - 26°c[3]. It has been known to survive occasional, short-lived lows down to -14°c[2]. Relatively easy to cultivate, it is a very undemanding plant that can tolerate all kinds of soils, even saline ones, provided that it has good drainage[3]. Conidered to be a weed by cattle ranchers because it can invade pasture land. It has not spread outside its native range, though anyone wishing to grow it in other regions (it should do well in Mediterranean areas for example) should be aware that it does have the potential to become invasive[2]. The plant produces deep-penetrating roots that can tap into underground sources of moisture[2]. It is not a fast growing species, you can expect fruits from around the sixth year[3]. The pale yellow flowers have an attractive aroma[2]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[4].

Propagation

Seed - keep them moist at relatively low temperatures of 12 -18°c[3]. Sections of the root usually produce new shoots freely. Even dried up roots more than 12 months old have been known to sprout when moistened[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Geoffroea+decorticans>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  3. [3]ChileFlora — http://www.chileflora.com/index.html ↩︎Not realy a flora, but a lovely site with lots of helpful information for the gardener and an abundance of excellent photos covering over 2,000 species of Chilean plants.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Geoffroea decorticans for Biofuels: A Promising Feedstock — Claudia Santibáñez & Marcela Vargas · 2017 · https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/4216175 ↩︎
  6. [6]The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation — Allen O.N.; Allen E.K. · University of Wisconsin · 1981 · ISBN 0-333-32221-5 ↩︎An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]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.