Height: up to 35 metres
Diameter: from 40 to 60 cm
Fruit: Crusched pod
The Species
Guacamayo
Albizia caribea
Forest tree species belonging to the Fabacee family and characterised by a high vertical
development (some plants may exceed 35m in height).
development (some plants may exceed 35m in height).
Known for the good quality of its wood, it is subject to heavy cutting. It is, however, a very suitable plant for forest regeneration projects because of its rapid development and can also be used for its soil stabilization capacity, avoiding erosive phenomena. It is also used in parks for ornamental purposes thanks to its beautiful appearance.
Igua
Albizia guachapele
A tall tree, with average heights around 25m. Is also easy to find specimens over 50m in height. Igua is a plant with a rapid development, able to create a rich leaf surface right from the start.
Known for the good quality of the wood obtained from cutting, it is unfortunately subject to strong cutting actions. It is a useful plant in forest regeneration projects where there is a lack of solar coverage, in fact thanks to its fast development and high leaf coverage it is a source of shade for smaller and more demanding plants.
Height: up to 50 metres
Diameter: 70 cm
Foliage/Fruit: Crusched pod and paripinnate leaves
Yellow Acacia
Cassia Siamea
Exotic tree plant species with an extended growing area range (from 0 up to 1600m in height).
It is commonly used in ecological and forestry restore processes as a pioneer species thanks to its robustness, which makes it highly resistant to adverse weather conditions.
Height: up to 18 metres
Foliage/Fruit: Leaves eglandular and pods fruits
Cedar
Cedrela odorata
Tree plant that prefers well drained soils but with good adaptability. Often grows in association with other tree species with which it creates a kind of natural connection. It is subject to two flowering intervals, the first between April and June and the second between September and November, while fructification takes place throughout the year.
Cedar is used to produce valuable wooden artefacts, thanks to high quality wood. It is also widely used in agroforestry systems and ecological restoration projects as a pioneer species.
Height: from 10 to 30 metres
Diameter: up tp 2 metres
Foliage: leaves are very long, up to 80cm
Cacao
THEOBROMA CACAO
An evergreen tree from the Malvaceae family and native to tropical regions of South America, the Cacao tree has always played a crucial role in indigenous cultures and its scientific name (‘Theobroma Cacao’) actually means ‘food of the gods’ in Greek. More than just a food, however, it is also a symbol of mysticism, history and traditions that go back thousands of years.
For those populations that live in synergy with the forest, cocoa production is one of the main sources of sustenance.
A cultural, economic and ecological resource, with specific growth requirements (shade and high levels of humidity), this species is one of the most interesting in terms of agro-forestry development activity.
Height: From 4 to 8 metres on average
Foliage: Oval, alternate, with a wavy edge and glossy top
Fruit: Egg-shaped and deep red when ripe, length from 15 to 30 cm and weighing between 300 and 500 g; each one can contain from 20 to 60 cocoa beans.
Brazilian Fern Tree
SCHIZOLOBIUM PARAHYBUM
This tall tropical tree species is common from Central America to Brazil and grows at an extremely fast rate, over 3 metres a year. This particular feature makes the tree important when it comes to forest regeneration, and it can gain ground over more invasive species (like the fern), which do not allow for the growth of tall plants.
Locally it is known as “tambor” and its wood, which is very light and easy to work with, is used by local communities for making drums.
Height: From 30 to 40 metres
Diameter: Up to 80 cm
Foliage: Over a metre long, paripinnate with 30/50 pairs per stem
Bucaro
Erythrina fusca
Plant species recognised for its high production of red flowers, very showy and beautiful, which also determine its use for ornamental purposes in parks and tropical botanical gardens. It is a plant with great adaptability, thus is not difficult to find it widely set-in various areas of the planet.
In addition to its ornamental characteristics, it is often used in agroforestry projects, where it takes on the role of “shade tree” for more delicate species, such as cocoa. Alkaloids, used in traditional medicine, are extracted from its fruits.
Height: from 10 to 25 metres
Diameter: up to 60 cm
Foliage/Fruit: fruits are legume pods reach to 20cm. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate up to 25cm long.
Coffee
COFFEA L.
The genus includes over 120 species of shrub-like plants from the Rubiaceae family. Coffee is the foundation of the local economy across the Sierra Nevada, where most of it is cultivated, and this variety’s high quality and aroma mean it is well-known and loved all over the world.
Due to its particular features and its shrub-like nature, coffee plants prefer shade and humidity typical of forests, which makes it a great partner for all sustainable agro-reforestation work.
Height: On average from 3 to 4 metres
Foliage: Oval with ruffled edges and variable length depending on the species (as long as 30 cm)
Fruit: Red berries, each containing two seeds or coffee beans.
Pavito
Jacaranda copaia
Evergreen or semi-deciduous plant recognized for its beautiful blue flowers produced from August to November. The young plants develop a long, flat stem without lateral branches and large green leaves grown directly from the apical part of the stem, giving the plant a resemblance to ferns. When fully developed, the plant can grow up to 35m, keeping a large part of the stem free of side branches.
Pavito is a plant of extreme interest to native populations who extract active ingredients useful for traditional medicine (the leaves are used to treat fevers, infections, and irritations, for example). In forest requalification plans, it is interesting for its speed of growth, for the persistent leaf cover, capable of giving protection to the most sensitive plants. Pavito has a small diameter, in fact it finds it place in associations with other tree species, without conflict with other species.
Height: up to 35 metres
Diameter: from 60 to 90 cm
Foliage: evergreen leaves
Guayacan Amarillo
Tabebuia chrysantha
Native plant of the intertropical belt of the deciduous forests of South America. In 1948 it was nominated as National Plant by Venezuela because of its extraordinary beauty and endemicity. In fact, the intense yellow colour of its flowers recalls the colour of the Venezuelan flag. A rustic and deciduous plant capable of adapting well even to the poorest and driest soils. It reaches average heights between 6 and 12m and blooms during the less rainy months, between February and April, so that the seeds can take advantage during the following months, the rainiest ones. If the year is less rainy, this species can adapt to this critical condition, re-flowering a second time, although with a lower intensity and a shorter duration compared to the previous flowering.
Guaycan Amarillo is a very important plant in soil moisture management, it is in fact associated with more demanding species at water levels, thus allowing a more balanced and heterogeneous development.
Height: up to 12 metres
Diameter: up to 50 cm
Fruit: Opposite Pinnate leaves
Ocobo Reselva
Tabebuia rosea
Medium height neotropics species (in full development it reaches 30m in height) but with a huge development of the stem, able to exceed 100cm in diameter. Also known as “savannah oak” and for this reason it is widely exploited to produce valuable wood, therefore subject to heavy cutting during deforestation processes.
This plant is very elastic to soil and climate conditions and for this reason it is used both as ornament in parks and during the reforestation projects. Flowering is usually associated with the driest periods of the year. It is an important species for reforestation plans as it can produce high quantities of seeds (about 45000 seeds per kg of fruit) with a strong propensity and efficiency to germination, which makes this tree species easy to replicate even in forest nurseries.
Height: up to 30 metres
Diameter: up to 100 cm
Fruit: the fruit are long and slender capsules that can measure up to 35 cm
Mesquite
Prosopis L.
This genus includes over 40 species (of trees and shrubs) belonging to the mimosaceae family. Typical of tropical and sub-tropical areas, these plants can grow in very dry environments and are an important natural resource in social and economic terms too. Over-exploited due to their rapid growth, which is ideal for timber production, mesquite species are at risk of dying out in the natural environment. Due to the multiple ways that these species can be used and the key role they play in forest ecosystems, today mesquite reforestation is considered one of the most important types of regeneration work.
Height: From 3 to 15 metres, depending on species
Foliage: Paripinnate and evergreen
Fruit: Legumes
Avocado
Persea americana
This variety of avocado is native to Mexico and can be found in the tropical regions of Central and South America. Its fruit has a high nutritional content and a dark green coloured skin (verging on coffee), which is so much thinner than other varieties that it is often considered to be edible.
Avocado has long been eaten by native populations, and it is an important species not just from an ecological viewpoint but also as a primary resource for the local economy.
Height: up to 20 metres
Foliage: Oval, between 12 and 25 cm in length
Fruit: Egg-shaped, from 4 to 12 cm in length