Cvet jarane

The tree

Lecythis lurida is an evergreen tree with a dense, pyramid-shaped crown that can grow 20 to 30 metres tall. The bole is straight and usually cylindrical, 40 to 60 cm in diameter, with thick and deeply fissured bark. The flowers are 3 to 4 cm across. Their petals are red or pink in bud and white adaxially at anthesis. The tree flowers most profusely from September through February. The fruits are indehiscent and depressed globose, 6 to 9 by 7 to 11 cm, and fall from the tree at maturity. Each fruit holds 2 to 7 large seeds, 5 to 6 by 4 to 5 cm.

Range and habitat

The species is distributed from Rio de Janeiro to Pernambuco in eastern coastal Brazil and in eastern Amazonia as far south as northwest Piauí. It is found in non-flooded moist forests, secondary vegetation and savanna-like habitats.

Names

The accepted name is Lecythis lurida, whose basionym is Eschweilera lurida Miers. The earlier name Eschweilera lurida is the first for the species, although it has long carried the epithet jarana.

Timber

The plant yields a very good, durable timber. The wood is heavy and hard, with good durability even when exposed to the elements. It is used particularly for outdoor purposes requiring toughness, such as railroad ties, heavy construction, poles and stakes. Railroad ties are reported to last 10 to 12 years on well-drained soil in Brazil. The fresh heartwood is light brown to blood-red and becomes salmon-pink to brownish-red when dry, while the sapwood band, 6 to 7 cm wide, is yellowish-cream. The texture is uniformly fine and the grain straight. The wood has no distinctive odour or taste. In laboratory tests it is very durable against brown-rot and white-rot fungi but low in resistance to marine borers. It is easy to season, and moderately difficult to work because of its high density.

Conservation

A 1998 IUCN assessment placed the species in the category Lower Risk/conservation dependent. Although the species is wide-ranging, its habitat has undergone serious deterioration and declines.

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