Simaroubaceae FAMILY
Simaba cedron
Simaba cedron
Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5
Safety & Hazards
The intensely bitter seeds are poisonous - more than 1.5 - 2 grams, administered in a single dose, can lead to death[1].
Cultivation Details
HabitSemi-deciduous Tree
GrowthMedium
A plant of lowland areas in the tropics. Succeeds in a sunny position or in dappled shade[2]. Prefers a well-drained soil[2]. Plants have a moderate rate of growth[2].
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed. A germination rate of about 65% can be expected, with the seeds sprouting within 20 - 35 days[2]. Seedlings grow away moderately quickly[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Simaba+cedron>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 49 — USDA; Washington · 1921 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Details of seeds and plants imported for trials by the United States Department of Agriculture in the last quarter of 1916, often detailing the uses of the plant and various other miscellaneous information. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [2]Brazilian Trees. Volume 3. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2009 · ISBN 85-86714-34-4 ↩︎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.
- [3]Flora of Costa Rica — Standley P.C. · Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago · 1938 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎Rather dated, but an excellent treatment of the area. Available for download from the internet.
- [4]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.
- [5]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
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎