Dipteryx Micrantha

Dipteryx micrantha is a tropical flowering plant, a giant tree in the Faboideae subfamily of the bean family Fabaceae. It is a dominant emergent tree in parts of the rainforests of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In the international timber market, this species is traded under the name cumaru. It furnishes a dense, hard, beautiful reddish timber which has become a popular import in the 2010s for use in parquet. The ornamental bunches of lilac pink flowers high in the canopy eventually develop into a mass of large fruit pods, which are an important food for many native animals during the dry season. The fruit contains a single oily seed which is edible, although these seeds are not exploited as a commercial product.

PLATES