Ormosia amazonica
Ormosia amazonica
Safety & Hazards
The plants, but especially the seed and perhaps also the bark, of many if not all species in this genus contain alkaloids and are toxic[1].
Cultivation Details
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[].
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. Sow the seed in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ormosia+amazonica>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Botanical Museum Leaflets Vol 21 — Botanical Museum; Cambridge, Massachusetts · 1963 - 1967 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A series of botanical articles. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [2]Tree Species of Panama — http://ctfs.arnarb.harvard.edu/webatlas/mainframe.php?order=s ↩︎Factsheets on all the tree and shrub species of Panama, giving identification guide, brief guide to the species and some uses. A vast, but rather incomplete work as of 15/07/09.
- [3]Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Vol. 32 — Rudd V.E. · Smithsonian Institution Press; Washington. · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Monographs of several species in the family Fabaceae, including the Ormosia that occur in the Americas. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [4]Useful Plants of the Siona and Secoya Indians of Eastern Ecuador. — Vickers W.T.; Plowman T. · Field Museum of Natural History; USA. · 1984 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN 0015 - 0746 ↩︎Very terse, but it gives the uses of a large number of species. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [5]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.