Tropicals > Bursera > Bursera graveolens > Bursera graveolens
Bursera graveolens
Palo Santo, Holy Wood
Origin: Central and South America (Baquero), Yucatan peninsula in Mexico and North-Western Peru. It has been found on the islands in the Caribbean such as Cuba and even in the Galapagos Islands.
| Family |
| Burseraceae |
| Genus |
| Bursera |
| Species |
| graveolens |
| Category |
| Tropicals |
| Type |
| Tree (deciduous) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 12a - 13b |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H1a |
| Temperature (°C) |
| 15 - 30 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 59 - 86 |
| Height |
| 20 m |
| Spread |
| 12 - 15 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| Landscape |
| Can be used as a landscape specimen and in parks. |
| Cultivation |
| Prefers tropical dry forest, where the soil is more fertile with a greater nutrient holding capacity. It thrives in soils with various combinations of sand and clay. |
| Shape |
| The crown is globe-like with leafy foliage. |
| Growth |
| Fast |
| Habitat |
| Endemic to deciduous dry forests. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| As it matures it grows irregular grooves or cracks. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| The bud is about 3 mm long, small and pointed. |
| Leaf Description |
| The leaves are compound alternate, imparipinnate. Margin is serrated or jagged and they possess a acute apex. |
| Flower Description |
| Small flowers form in panicle-like clusters. Flowers are in full bloom between May and June. |
| Fruit Description |
| Fruit start to appear in late June to early July. Capsule-like and spherical shaped to about 1 cm in length and 0.6 cm in width. The fruit has a bittersweet flavour, smells like anise. Not edible to humans but loved by native wild fauna such as birds, rodents and insects. |
| Colour Description |
| Leaves are dark greenish-blue in the spring, light green in summer and pale yellow in autumn. The bark remains a greyish-purple colour. The fruit are a bright green when in capsule form and become red as fruit ripens (breaks through capsules). The flowers are lime green in colour when in clusters. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| Woodchips are burned as mosquito repellent or in rituals as incense to transmute negative energy into positive. Essential oils can be extracted both from the fruit and sap of this species. Locals have extracted certain pharmaceutical compounds used to treat illnesses such as Fibrosarcoma, Arthritis and Arteriosclerosis. The resin can also be rubbed on cattle to help with joint pain and processed into insect repellant to treat against Fall Army Worm (Spodoptera frugiperda). |
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