Libidibia coriaria - Divi-divi
Family:
Native to:
Habitat:
Fabaceae - Leguminosae
Parts of Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, the Caribbean.
Seasonal or coastal forests, dry plains and hillsides. 0-350 meters above sea level. 10 meter tall tree.
Ecological value:
Has a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria that form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen which can be shared with neighboring plants. The flowers attract bees. Slow growing. Tolerates a wide range of habitats including sandy soils. Full sun.
Material uses:
The pods contain 45% tannin, produces a black or blue dye. Trees yield around 45-135kg of pods per year. The wood creates a red dye. The leaves are used as mulch. The wood itself is utilized as fuel. Hardwood is a substitute for ebony for making small items.
Edible uses:
No record on this species.
Medicinal use:
Decoction of pods used to treat hemorrhoids. Bark or pods used to dress wounds.
Other details:
Wind sculpted. Can be inter-cropped with other species, and requires little care. Plants in this genus are resistant to honey fungus. Begin flowering at 5-7 years. Full pod-crops at 20 years of age. Seeds contain 5-9% of an essential oil which have carcinogenic properties.
Research:
Senna Lau/Christine Facella
Sources:
“Libidibia Coriaria (Jacq.) Schltdl. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science.” n.d. Plants of the World Online. Accessed November 28, 2023. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1010207-2/general-information.
“Libidibia Coriaria - Useful Tropical Plants.” n.d. Tropical.theferns.info. Accessed November 28, 2023. https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Libidibia+coriaria.
Huxley. A., ‘The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992’, MacMillan Press, 1992
Image source: Vinayaraj