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Fabaceae FAMILY

Vataireopsis araroba

Vataireopsis araroba

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

Some caution is advised in the medicinal use of this plant. It should not be taken internally and, since it is readily absorbed through the skin, it should only be used externally in small quantities. It can be severely irritating to the skin and mucous membranes whilst as little as 10 mg absorbed by the body has been associated with vomiting, diarrhoea and kidney inflammation. The resinous sawdust can seriously inflame the eyes and may also cause allergies to people working with the wood[1, 2].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

Succeeds in sun or light shade[3]. Found in the wild on clayey or sandy, well-drained soils[3]. Established plants are drought resistant[3]. 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[4].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe[3]. Since it is very difficult to extract them, the seeds can be sown with their pods. Sow them in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers. A germination rate in excess of 50% can be expected within 2 - 3 weeks[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Vataireopsis+araroba>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Forest Stewardship Council. — http://www.fsc.dk/index.php?id=256&PHPSESSID=367043b95e93a891cf96369e9264cd03 ↩︎The site contains information on the properties of some less well-known tropical timbers. The Forest Stewardship Council works actively to protect tropical forests by encouraging sustainable harvesting of the trees.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  6. [6]Pharmacographia Indica — Dymock W.; Warden C.J.H.; Hooper D. · Education Society's Press, Byculla; Mombai. · 1890 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Information on the principal plant medicines encountered in India in the 19th century.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  9. [9]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  10. [10]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.