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Hymenaea courbaril
Fabaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Hymenaea courbaril

Hymenaea courbaril

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Hymenaea courbaril grows well in lowland tropical and subtropical areas up to an elevation of aroud 900 metres[1]. It prefers a mean annual temperature in the range 20 - 30°c, with a mean annual rainfall of 1,500 - 3,000mm, which can be evenly distributed through the year or monsoonal[1]. It can tolerate 4 months or more of drought[1, 2]. Young plants can tolerate some shade but require more sun as they grow with mature plants requiring a position in full sun[1, 2]. Tolerates and will grow on all textures of soil from sand to clay but develops best on deep, fertile, moist and well-drained sandy soils[1, 2]. Tolerates poor fertility soils and waterlogging[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[3]. Succeeds in a pH in the range 4.8 - 6.8[1, 2]. The tree develops best when grown on ridges or slopes and high riverbanks[1]. Young plants usually grow at an angle with a drooping leader for their first 2 - 3 years, before straightening up and developing a straight bole[2]. Trees generally have a moderate rate of growth - in a good site they were up to 11 metres tall after 13 years, though in a poorer site that were only up to 9 metres after 20 years[2]. The plant commences fruiting when 8 - 12 years of age, so long as it is receiving full overhead light[1, 2]. A few to more than 100 pods are produced each year, though only part of a tree produces fruit in any one year[2]. Planting in the open, for shade and ornamental purposes, produces attractive and spreading trees more rapidly[1]. Planting near buildings is not recommended because of the plant's spreading roots, gum producion and malodorous fruits[4]. Coppices well and thus maintains itself in frequently cut-over areas; however stumps of large trees do not coppice[1, 2]. There are conflicting reports on whether or not this tree has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, so it is unclear as to whether this tree fixes atmospheric nitrogen[5].

Propagation

Seed - freshly sown, still moist seed does not require pre-treatment, but if the seedcoat has dried and hardened then it will require some treatment to help it absorb moisture more rapidly. This can be done by soaking the seed for 12 hours in warm water - if it swells it can be sown, otherwise carefully nick the seedcoat, making sure not to damage the embryo, then soak for a few hours more before sowing[PFAF]. Sow the seed in light shade in individual containers or a nursery seedbed. Treated seed usually starts to sprout after 8 - 12 days at an optimal temperature of 30°c[6]. A germination rate of 40 - 90% can be expected[2]. Seedlings grow better in a sunny position than in shade and are ready to plant out within 60 days from germination[2]. Seed can be stored for a year or more at 2 - 4°c in a sealed container[2]. Softwood cuttings in misted beds with steam or electrically heated soil[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Hymenaea+courbaril>

Pollinators

Bats

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]Hymenaea courbaril (L.) Algarrobo, locust. Leguminosae. Legume family. Caesalpinioideae. Cassia sub-family. — Francis J.K. · USDA Forest Service; New Orleans. · 1990 · http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/30404 ↩︎A very detailed article on Hymenaea courbaril. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Timber Trees of Meso America. — UNEP · 2005 · http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/timber/workshops/reports/MA2005/Annex%202.pdf ↩︎A PDF document, published on the internet. Detailed reports on about 30 species of timber trees from Central America.
  9. [9]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics
  10. [10]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.
  11. [11]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  12. [12]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
  13. [13]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.
  14. [14]Vegetable Gums and Resins. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · ISBN 81-88818-17-8 ↩︎A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
  15. [15]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
  16. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎