Up to 180 ft tall (55 m)
Up to 5 ft diameter (1.5 m)
English names: Tonka Bean, Cumaru, Ironwood, Brazilian Chestnut, Brazilian Teak
Other names: Shihuahuaco (Peru), Cumaru (Brazil), Sarrapia (Venezuela, Colombia)
Latin name: Dipteryx micrantha (older synonyms Dipteryx odorata, Coumarouna odorata)
Family: Fabaceae (a legume)
Non-destructive: Coumarin (a sweet flavored spice similar to vanilla), oil used as a perfume scent and flavoring for tobacco. Both the coumarin and oil are extracted from the fallen fruits.
Medicinal: Used as a traditional medicine in Brazil. "A water extract of cumaru bark is popularly used as an antispasmodic and general tonic, acting as an efficient moderator of cardiac action and respiration" (Clay and Clement 1983)
Destructive: Charcoal, flooring, railroad ties, other heavy construction
Wood characteristics: One of the hardest and densest woods in the entire Amazon region
Commercial potential: Can be grown in plantations for commercial uses so ancient ones in natural forests don't need to be cut
Mature trees in natural forests are irreplaceable because they
take centuries to reach sizes of 1 meter or more in diameter. Only after hundreds
of years can the trees develop the cavities macaws, parrots and other species
depend on for their survival. Any cutting of such trees should be seen as tree
mining. Commercial exploitation of Dipteryx can only be sustainable when
the trees are grown in and harvested in plantations.