Parkia bicolor

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics where it is found at elevations up to 1,200 metres^[1]. It occurs in regions with a mean annual rainfall of 2,000 - 4,000mm, and with a dry season of up to 3 months^[1]. Requires a sunny position^[1]. Seedlings can become 1 metre tall in their first year of growth^[1]. In Cote d'Ivoire, the mean annual growth in diameter is about 7mm for trees with a diameter at breast height of 10 - 70cm in natural forest stands, and 17mm per year in 14-year-old plantations^[1]. Individual trees flower for 6 - 8 weeks. At night, the sterile flowers near the base of the inflorescence produce abundant nectar, which attracts bats. The flowers are probably most commonly pollinated by these bats, but dormice and pottos have also been recorded as feeding on the nectar^[1]. Fruits develop in about 2 months^[1]. Regeneration is fairly common in secondary forest^[1]. Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen^[2].