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Fabaceae FAMILY

Stryphnodendron polyphyllum

Stryphnodendron polyphyllum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

Requires a sunny position[1]. Succeeds in sandy and clay soils, so long as they are well-drained, it is also often found growing in poor soils[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[1]. Freshly planted young trees grow away fairly well[1]. Trees respond well to coppicing[1]. With their thick bark, they are resistant to fires and are also capable of resprouting from the base if the top is too severely burnt[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[].

Propagation

Seed - sow in a nursery seedbed in a sunny position in well-drained soil[1]. The germination rate is usually low, with the seeds sprouting in 10 - 15 days[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Stryphnodendron+polyphyllum>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Brazilian Trees. Volume 2. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-15-1 ↩︎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]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]Diccionario das Plantas Uteis do Brasil — Correa M.P. · Imprensa Nacional; Rio de Janeiro · 1926 ↩︎A massive work in 6 volumes giving details of the various uses of Brazilian plants.
  5. [5]Influence of extracts of Stryphnodendron polyphyllum and S.obovatum on the cicatrisation of cutaneous wounds in rats — Lopes G.C. et al · Journal of Ethnopharmacology · 2005 (June) ↩︎A research paper into the effectiveness of two species of plants at healing wounds.
  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.