Biome
Plants of the Cerrado biome
A marked dry season over deep, acidic soils: in the Cerrado, guild design starts with water — plant at the onset of the rains, mulch generously, and pick species that cross the dry winter without irrigation. Many biome natives produce well in syntropic systems, alongside well-established suitable species.
204 species in the catalog · Refine this list in the catalog
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pimenta de cheiro
Capsicum chinense
Placenta II Low No biomass productionBrazilian C. chinense pepper with low pungency (0–500 SHU) and very intense aroma. Round yellow/green/red fruits. Foundation of Pará and Amazon cui...
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malagueta pepper
Capsicum frutescens
Placenta II Low No biomass productionVery pungent Brazilian pepper (60,000–100,000 SHU), small upright red fruits. Perennial in tropical zones (3–5 years). Tolerates light shade. Widel...
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papaya
Carica papaya
Placenta II High Mulch biomassShort-cycle Placenta II species occupying the high stratum for 2–4 years. Fruits 9–12 months after planting.
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souari nut
Caryocar brasiliense
Climax HighIconic fruit tree of the Brazilian Cerrado, up to ~10 m tall with a broad crown. Very slow growth; first fruits not until ~30 years in smaller indi...
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trumpet tree
Cecropia pachystachya
Placenta II Medium Mulch biomassFast-growing, short-lived (~20 years) pioneer tree that colonizes edges and gaps in all Brazilian biomes. Fruits eaten by birds and primates; symbi...
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Spanish cedar
Cedrela fissilis
Secondary II High Mulch biomassPremium native timber of the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazonia. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3 and cites it as a premium timb...
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silk floss tree
Ceiba speciosa
Secondary I EmergentDeciduous Atlantic Forest tree reaching 15–30 m with a crown up to 20 m wide. Fast growth (~6 m in 2–3 years). Trunk often armed with conical spines.
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vetiver
Chrysopogon zizanioides
Placenta II Low Mulch biomassPerennial grass with deep vertical roots (up to 4 m), originally from India. The Bosque de Niebla Guidebook recommends vetiver as a hedgerow specie...
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common chicory
Cichorium intybus
Placenta I Medium No biomass productionBitter perennial leafy green with deep taproots — an excellent soil decompactor. Pasini lists it in the medium stratum of Tabela 3. Leaves used in ...
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watermelon
Citrullus lanatus
Placenta I Ground cover No biomass productionAnnual creeping cucurbit with large fruit. Embrapa CT-16 plants it in the planting holes of forest and fruit species during the initial agroforestr...
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Persian lime
Citrus × latifolia
Secondary I Medium No biomass productionMedium-stratum citrus in syntropic systems. Pasini cites 'lemon' as a stratification example next to coffee (low), avocado (high), and eucalyptus (...
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mandarin
Citrus reticulata
Secondary II Medium No biomass productionMedium-stratum citrus in syntropic systems. Pasini lists ponkan in the high stratum of Tabela 3; the Bosque de Niebla Guidebook places the mandarin...
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orange
Citrus × sinensis
Secondary I High No biomass productionCitrus fruit tree widely used in Brazilian agroforestry systems. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3 and cites it among Abundance-syste...
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butterfly pea
Clitoria ternatea
Placenta I Ground cover Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA perennial herbaceous climbing legume able to fix up to 100 kg N per hectare per year in symbiosis with Rhizobium. Used as a high-value forage (pr...
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catuaí coffee
Coffea arabica
Secondary I Low No biomass productionCaturra × Mundo Novo hybrid developed by IAC. Compact dwarf architecture (1.8–2.5 m) — eases harvest and dense planting. Dominant cultivar in Brazi...
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mundo novo coffee
Coffea arabica
Secondary I Medium No biomass productionNatural Sumatra × Red Bourbon hybrid selected by IAC. Tall (2.5–4 m), thin trunk that arches and requires sucker thinning. Excellent vigor, rustici...
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coffee
Coffea arabica
Secondary I Low No biomass productionShade-grown crop valuable in syntropic Atlantic Forest systems. Occupies the low stratum between bananas and ingás.
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bourbon coffee
Coffea arabica
Secondary I Medium No biomass productionHeirloom arabica cultivar — originated on Bourbon Island (modern Réunion) in the 18th century. Tall (3–4 m), open canopy. Susceptible to coffee lea...
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robusta coffee
Coffea canephora
Secondary I Medium No biomass productionDistinct coffee species from arabica — more vigorous, adapted to lowland (0–800 m) and hot climate (22–26°C). Brazil's dominant species in Espírito...
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woolly plectranthus
Coleus barbatus
Secondary I Medium No biomass productionA perennial semi-succulent subshrub of the Lamiaceae family, native to tropical Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Asia, widely grown in Brazil as b...
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diesel tree
Copaifera langsdorffii
Climax High Mulch biomassClimax Cerrado and Atlantic Forest legume; produces medicinal oil from trunk exudates. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3 and in the '...
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sunn hemp
Crotalaria juncea
Placenta I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual green-manure legume, fixes up to ~450 kg N/ha, ideal for the Placenta I phase. Breaks nematode cycles and contributes large amounts of ferti...
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capixingui
Croton floribundus
Secondary I High Mulch biomassNative pioneer tree of the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, common in edges and clearings of semi-deciduous forests. Reaches 8–15 m on a roughly 30-yea...
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dragon's blood tree
Croton urucurana
Secondary I Medium Mulch biomassHeliophyte pioneer tree typical of riparian forests and humid terrain across the Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest. Reaches 7–14 m and produces ...
❓ Frequently asked questions
What characterizes the Cerrado biome?
Tropical savanna of central Brazil — the most biodiverse savanna on Earth. Pronounced dry season (4–6 months), deep acidic soils, fire integrated into species dynamics. Cerrado species typically have deep roots, thick bark, and tolerance to fire and drought — valuable traits for systems in seasonal climates.
Which plants does the catalog suggest for the Cerrado biome?
The catalog holds 204 species, among them pimenta de cheiro, malagueta pepper, papaya. Each profile shows stratum, succession stage, and the management data, with sources cited.