Woody > Anadenanthera > Anadenanthera colubrina > Anadenanthera colubrina
Anadenanthera colubrina
Origin: South America.
Mike's
Opinion
"
Anadenanthera colubrina also known as Angico, Angico-vermelho, Angico-bravo is a native species from south America with most of it’s specimen found in Brazil even though it was also found around north of south America. A. colubrina is a deciduous tree from the Fabaceae (Mimosoidae - Leguminosae) family, it has a flat dry looking fruit, when not mature has a dark green colour and when mature it changes to a dark brown colour. Its seeds are also flat and can vary on size (0.5 cm to 1 cm), giving it a coin like shape, seeds colour can vary from dark silver to dark brown. Its flowers vary between white and yellowish colours with a very good scent and its bark has brown dark shades; those features leads it to be one of the specimens for landscape design. By my personal experience it’s a very famous Deciduous tree that can be found in many sidewalk plant bags around many south and central Brazilian cities. The most interesting characteristic about A. colubrina is that it’s seeds are one of the entheogen drugs used in indigenous communities, therefore it is considered secret.
Michael Pascoe, NDP., ODH., CLT., MSc. (Plant Conservation)
"
| Family |
| Fabaceae |
| Genus |
| Anadenanthera |
| Species |
| colubrina |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (deciduous) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 9 - 13 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 8a |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H1a - H3 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| (-5) - 30 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 20 - 85 |
| Height |
| 3 - 15 m |
| Spread |
| 1 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| Deciduous tree native to south America, its size depends on the environment it is found varying between 3-30 m of height and, with twice pinnately compound leaves and legume like fruit. |
| Landscape |
| Anadenanthera colubrina has range of useful usages and is very popular as a feature because of its clusters of white yellowish blooms and its light green twice pinnately compound leaves. It is one of the native trees that is used to restore national park reserves plus, as mentioned before, is very famous for its landscape feature usage, parks and streets, also, people from small cities and villages would use its bark to make sculptures and sell it. |
| Cultivation |
| Seed germinate in wet and dark conditions. It grows well in dry sandy soil but can also be planted in high organic material soils, partial sun is preferred; 50% of sun is the best scenario and never full sun. Plant should be planted in the spring or summer. |
| Shape |
| Vertical low growing with not too many branches. |
| Growth |
| Fast |
| ID Characteristic |
| A deciduous tree native to Brazil from the fabaceae (Mimosoidae – Leguminosae) family, therefore with a legume like fruit, its seeds look like black wood “coins”. Also, very famous on landscape design for its clusters of with and yellowish flowers and it blooms and its twice pinnately compound leaves. |
| Pests |
| No notable pests or diseases. |
| Habitat |
| Native to South America it grows naturally under H1a to H3 RHS hardiness zones, mostly common in high altitude savannas and semi-tropical forest. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Gray bark in the outside part and orange inside, bark usually overlap itself forming cracks and very wrinkle and branches are smooth when adult. Bark as bulbs when young, steams are usually found at the very top of the canopy. |
| Leaf Description |
| Leaves are twice pinnately compounded, alternated with 20 to 80 pairs of leaflets, they are ridge and are 4-6 mm long. |
| Flower Description |
| Blooms in the dry season, “flower heads are heteromorphic, with staminate flower at the base and perfect flower at the apex of the inflorescence”. Flowers are white yellowish. |
| Fruit Description |
| Anadenanthera colubrina has a legume like fruit (mimosoideae sub family), dry, flat and curvy, with a dark brown colour, its length can vary from 13,5 to 39,50 mm and its width from 2,03 and 2,44. Its seeds are kept inside it, they are “coin” like dark reddish seeds and can vary from 0,16 to 046 cm. |
| Colour Description |
| Leaf colour remains the same until it drops, nice white yellowish colour during the bloom season. Bark has the same colour during the role season and plant life, white/grey exterior and orange interior. |
| Texture Description |
| Coarse textured plant. Texture does not change during the season. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Angico plant specimens can be found as a landscape plant at Brazil’s capital; Brasilia, more specific at “asa norte, Distrito Federal”. |
| Propagation |
| The main method is by seed (not too efficient). They should be sown in December in order to grow through the summer season, also, seed germination is more likely to happen, and seed is sink in water for breaking the dormancy and then planted. Very Hard to propagate by cuttings. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| this tree has medicinal properties use by indigenous people; its sap can be used as a very efficient wound healer and the seeds are one of the entheogen drugs used in indigenous communities. |
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