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Machaerium villosum
Fabaceae FAMILY Vulnerable

Machaerium villosum

Machaerium villosum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitSemi-deciduous Tree
GrowthMedium

Grows best in a sunny position[1]. Found in the wild mainly on well-drained, sandy soils[1]. Plants have a moderate rate of growth[1]. 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[2].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and 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. The seed has a short viability and so should be sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in individual containers. A low germination rate can be expected from untreated seeds, with the seed sprouting within 20 - 40 days[1]. The seedlings develop quite slowly, but they should be ready to plant out 8 - 9 months later[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Machaerium+villosum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Brazilian Trees. Volume 1. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-17-8 ↩︎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. [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. [3]Machaerium (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Dalbergieae) nos estados de Mato Grosso e Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil — Polido C.A. & Sartori A.L.B. · 2011 ↩︎
  4. [4]The World List of Threatened Trees — Oldfield S.; Lusty C.; and MacKinven A. · World Conservation Press; Cambridge UK · 1998 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN 1-899628-10 X ↩︎A list of the trees on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plant Species in 1998, often giving some information on habitat and the reasons for being on the list. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Indicador de Madeiras e Plantas Uteis do Brasil. — Fonseca E. T. De · Officinas graphicas Villas-Boas & Co.; Rio de Janeiro · 1922 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Brief details of some of the uses of Brazilian plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.