Tree Embaúba (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Silver-Colored Leaves
Embaúba, a fast-growing tree, can reach 15 meters in height and is easily identified in the forest because its big leaves seem to have a silvery glow from a distance.
(Embaúba) Cecropia tree's canopy (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
INDIGENOUS NAME
It is popularly known as “Embaúva” and “Imbaúva” - “ãba'ib” or “hollow tree” in the Tupi language. This pioneer species native of the Atlantic Forest belongs to the Cecropia genus.
Species Diversity
In the Botanical Garden Araribá (JBA), the most common Embaúbas are those of the species Cecropia pachystachya and Cecropia glaziovii.
(Embaúba) Cecropia tree's twig (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
A very attractive tree in the ecosystem
Cecropia - Embaúba (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Bird on the Embaúba (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Cecropia's trunk (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Cecropia - Embaúba (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
A feast in the forest
The Embaúba’s fruits feed sloths, frugivore bats, and birds; species that are dispersers of several types of seeds, contributing to the perpetuation and restoration of the forest.
Biodiversity of the Botanical Garden Araribá (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
(Embaúba) Cecropia tree's Fruits (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Embaúba, a fast-growing tree, plays an important recolonizing role in the Atlantic Forest by providing shade or half-shade so that some secondary trees can sprout, or by feeding various animal species with their fruits and seeds.
Cecropia - Embaúba (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
The Sloth’s trees
The sloth, native to the Americas, is not lazy. It's just slow because its heart beats only 40 times a minute and must move slowly in order to keep its blood circulation balanced. Sloths love the fruits of the embaúba.
Cecropia - Embaúba (2021) by Foto - Guaraci M Diniz JrJardim Botânico Araribá
Slow but really smart!
It slowly climbs to the top of Embaúba and feeds on the fruits of this tree, which in folk medicine is known as a cardiac tonic!
Guardian Ants
Embaúba has a symbiotic relationship with the ants of the genus Azteca. The tree secretes a sugary substance attracting these ants, which, in return, protect the Embaúba from attack by other insects and herbivorous animals.
The hollow trunk of the Embaúba, in addition to being used for transit and shelter for ants...
...was also used especially by the natives who inhabited the Atlantic Forest to make pipes that transported water.
To make fire an old fashioned way
The native Indians who inhabited the Atlantic Forest used the wood from the root of the embaúba to make fire, rubbing it with another stick.
Medicinal Properties
The water released by the roots of the embaúba is used in folk and indigenous medicine as herbal medicine that takes care of the kidneys and heart and strengthens immunity. The recommendation is that the roots should be harvested in the first days of the full moon.
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
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).
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