Meliaceae FAMILY

Trichilia hirta

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree

Growth—

Prefers a sunny position^[1]. Succeeds in a wide range of soils^[1].

Propagation

Seed - do not remove the fleshy covering around the seed because it does not tolerate being dried, and has a short viability of up to 1 month^[1]. Sow the seed as soon as it is ripe, either in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers, choosing a position in light shade^[1]. The germination rate is usually low, with the seed sprouting within 30 - 40 days. Pot up seedbed-grown seedlings into individual pots when they are 4- 5cm tall and they should be ready for planting out into their permanent positions 5 - 7 months later^[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Trichilia+hirta>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

[1]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.
[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]Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H. · USDA, Forest Service; Washington. · 1964 ↩︎Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
[4]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
[5]Flora of Yucatan — Standley P.C. · Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago · 1930 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎The first flora that was attempted for this area in 1930, so it is obviously lacking information and the Botanical names can be out of date. Still, an excellent work and it records many plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
[6]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.