Terminalia Amazonia - White olive / Roble coral
Family:
Native to:
Habitat:
Combretaceae
Parts of Central America and northern and central South America.
Wet and humid evergreen forests, savannas. 30 meters tall, up to 2000 meters above sea level.
Ecological value:
Fruits are a source of food for species like parakeets and parrots. Moderately fast growing. Grows at lower elevations including in swamps, but can succeed as high as 2000 meters by the Equator. Adapts to poor, wet soils, including clays and sand.
Material uses:
The wood is heavy, hard and strong and is fairly durable. Moderately resistant to fungi and wood boring insects. Used for high quality furniture, cabinetry, flooring, general construction, handles and veneers. The bark of the tree can also be used for tannins.
Edible uses:
Some fruits in this genus are edible, but no record on this species.
Medicinal use:
Unspecified medicinal uses. Terminalia species in general contain compounds that may treat cancers, kidney and heart ailments, diabetes, malaria and fungal infections.
Other details:
The bark from the lower part of trunk, curls in thin sheets and can freely be pulled off. Can become deformed when young , from pests, or gumming caused by a virus. Blooms between February and May, and fruits between March and May.
Research:
Queenie Szu-Yu / Christine Facella
Sources:
“Terminalia Amazonia (J.F.Gmel.) Exell | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science.” n.d. Plants of the World Online. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:250537-2/general-information.
“Terminalia Amazonia - Useful Tropical Plants.” n.d. Tropical.theferns.info. Accessed November 19, 2023. https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Terminalia+amazonia.
Bolza. E. & Christensen. F.J., ‘South American Timbers: the Properties, Uses and Characteristics of 190 Species’, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization,1979
Montero, Marcelino. "Terminalia amazonia; ecologia y silvicultura". CATIE., 2005
Zhang et al, . “The Genus Terminalia (Combretaceae): An Ethnopharmacological, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review.” Natural Products and Bioprospecting 9 , 2019
Image source: David J. Stang.