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Tropicals, Woody > Schizolobium > Schizolobium parahyba > Schizolobium parahyba

Schizolobium parahyba


Brazilian Fern Tree, Brazilian Fire-Tree, Tower Tree, Mexican Fern Tree, Yellow Jacaranda, Reach for the Sky, Guapuruvu




Origin:  South America including Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. Also in Central America from Panama to southern Mexico.
Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Schizolobium
Species
parahyba
Category
Tropicals, Woody
Type
Tree (deciduous)
Synonyms
Caesalpinia parahyba,. Cassia parahyba, Schizolobium amazonicum,. Schizolobium excelsum, Schizolobium glutinosum, Schizolobium kellermanii Pittier
USDA Hardiness Zone
9b - 11
Canadian Hardiness Zone
Requires cold season protection under glass.
RHS Hardiness Zone
H3 - H1c
Temperature (°C)
(-3.8) to above 4.5
Temperature (°F)
25 - 40
Height
20 - 35 m
Spread
5 m
Photographs
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
AprilMayJune
General Description
A deciduous tree with a wide-spreading and flat-topped crown.
Landscape
The tree is very fast-growing and also fixes atmospheric nitrogen. It is an excellent choice for restoring land to forest and for establishing woodland gardens.
Cultivation
Grow best in a sunny position, and in a well drained, moist, loamy to clay soil. Established trees are drought tolerant, and prefers a fertile soil, but can succeed in soils of low fertility.
Shape
A non-branching tree and topped by distinctive fern tree-like crown when young. Mature tree has a sparse open crown.
Growth
Fast
ID Characteristic
The tree has brittle branches that break off easily in the wind.
Habitat
Atlantic rainforest, most commonly in open, secondary formations, preferring valley bottoms, alluvial plains and along rivers, forming dense groups in hillside depressions
Bark/Stem Description
A straight cylindrical stem; it can be 60 - 80 cm in diameter.
Leaf Description
Large pinnately-compound leaves up to 1 m in length consisting of 15-20 pairs of elliptical leaflets 2-3 cm in length.
Flower Description
Golden yellow flowers produced in racemes.
Fruit Description
A brown, hard, 8-12 cm long, turn black and crack open when mature to release single oval flattened seed.
Notable Specimens
Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando, Florida, United States of America.
Propagation
By stem cuttings and seeds.
Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer)
It can be grown for fuel (annual wood production can be up to 20 tonnes per hectare) or as a pioneer to restore woodland.
References
Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2019-06-06.
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