Tara spinosa
Tara spinosa
Safety & Hazards
The high tannin content of the pods may be lethal if consumed in large quantities by animals[1].
Cultivation Details
A plant of higher elevations in the Andean mountains, it has been cultivated from the warm temperate to the very dry and seasonally wet tropics. It can grow in areas where the mean annual temperatures are within the range 14 - 28°c, and the mean annual rainfall is in the range 660 - 1,730mm[1]. Succeeds in full sun and partial sun[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.8 - 7.5[1]. A fast-growing plant[2]. 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[3].
Propagation
Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and benefits from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination[1]. 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. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Tara+spinosa>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
- [2]Desert Tropicals — http://www.desert-tropicals.com/ ↩︎The main focus of the site is succulent plants, but it also contains information on a wide range of other species. Usually at least one good photograph, plus basic information about the plant and its cultivation.
- [3]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.
- [4]Flora of Peru — Macbride. J.F. · Field Museum of Natural History · 1936 ↩︎An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
- [5]Botanical Museum Leaflets Vol 28 — Harvard University; Cambridge, Mass. · 1981 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎An article on the Ethnopharmacological uses of plants in northwestern S. America, amongst many other articles. It can be downloaded from the Internet.