Guapuruvu: the yellow forest sentry
"Schizolobium parahyba" - the tree protecting the Atlantic rainforest
Biodiversity of the Botanical Garden Araribá (2020) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
THE TREE
A pioneer species of the Atlantic Forest, the guapuruvu is also popularly known as “ficheira” and “tamanqueira”. Belonging to the fabaceas family, its scientific name is Schizolobium parahyba.
Like every pioneer tree...
The Guapuruvu appears in devastated areas or open clearings in the forest, providing shade for plant species that come later, contributing to the formation of an entire forest.
Locational Preferences
The guapuruvu prefers open forests and scrub. It is rare in dense primary forest. It blooms from August to October.
Exclusive of the Atlantic Forest biome, the guapuruvu tree grows up to 10 meters in 2 years and quickly reaches its maximum height of between 20 and 30 meters. It tends to grow more in the coastal areas of the biome. Its name comes from the Tupi-Guarani indigenous language and means "canoe-making trunk". The trunk was, in fact, used by the indigenous people for this purpose.
Biodiversity of the Botanical Garden Araribá (2020) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
The forest that 'dresses up' in yellow
When the guapuruvu opens its yellow flowers in the forest, it is easily identifiable. It's a wonderful spectacle of nature, as several guapuruvu trees bloom at the same time, splashing the forest with yellow tones.
Biodiversity of the Botanical Garden Araribá (2020) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
It's a spectacle of nature for the bees as well
The yellow flowers of the guapuruvu produce a lot of nectar and pollen. They attract several species of bees, contributing to the preservation of this increasingly threatened insect on the planet.
Reaching for the Sun
The guapuruvu has large, bipennate and deciduous leaves, that is, they fall during the winter. Furthermore, it is a heliophyte plant that seeks exposure to the sun at the top of the forest. Its large size explains this.
Guapuruvu's Seeds (Schizolobium parahyba) (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
'Flying' seeds
The seeds of the guapuruvu are winged, allowing them to be dispersed by the wind. They have a double package: an outer cover with a thick texture in the shape of an elongated drop, and an inner capsule with a fine and light texture with an aerodynamic shape.
Guapuruvu's Seeds (Schizolobium parahyba) (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Plentiful Plant Material
Guapuruvu fruits ripen between April and July. From there, they will be ready to disperse their seeds in the forest.
Guapuruvu's seeds (Schizolobium parahyba) (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Searching for a spot
The dispersion of guapuruvu seeds occurs from the top of the tree. They detach from the crown and are carried away by the wind, turning like a propeller and falling away from the mother plant, to originate another individual.
Guapuruvu's Seeds (Schizolobium parahyba) (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Although the Guapuruvu does not bear edible fruit, it usually attracts birds which use its branches as a perch, thus contributing to the dispersion of other seeds that they may have ingested through the forest. With a smooth and rounded texture, the seeds are also widely used as a component of handcrafted products, like buttons for clothes.
Guapuruvu (Schizolobium parahyba) (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Natural 'print'
The trunk of the Guapuruvu, with a streaked texture, is straight and imposing, reaching up to 70 centimeters of diameter at chest height.
Schizolobium parahyba - Guapuruvu (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Natural 'print'
Guapuruvu (Schizolobium parahyba) (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Natural 'print'
A good wood to build canoes
Like several pioneer trees of the Atlantic Forest which are fast growing, the trunk of the Guapuruvu is light and of low density, being versatile for the manufacture of canoes; a specialty of the indigenous people who inhabited the Atlantic Forest.
The imposing trunk of the Guapuruvu is light colored, with smooth, streaked and gray bark. The bark contains tannins and therefore has astringent medicinal properties.
Biodiversity of the Botanical Garden Araribá (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Ecological Function
Like all leguminous, Guapuruvu makes the nitrogen present in the soil available to other plants, playing an essential biological role, along with the plant litter accumulated in the soil, as its parts fall from the plant, contributing to the biodiversity's increase.
Covered ground (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Technical information: Emilson Rabelo, agronomist engineer; Rafael Bueno, ecologist, and Guaraci M. Diniz Jr., environmental educator and ecological farmer
Text: Tânia Rabello, journalist
Translation: Luiz Baqueiro, biologist
Composition, production and musical performance: Caique Neri and Danilo Ciolfi
All photos are of trees in the Araribá Botanical Garden (JBA) and the Duas Cachoeiras Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN), which is also a Conservation Unit (UC) of the National System of Conservation Units (SNUC).Composition, production and musical performance: Caique Neri and Danilo Ciolfi
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