Function
Timber — species for syntropic systems
Timber is the system's savings account: it grows while the short cycles pay the bills. In the guild's dense planting, competition for light pulls the trunks straight and fast.
74 species in the catalog · Refine this list in the catalog
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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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fairchild's clitoria
Clitoria fairchildiana
Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA leguminous tree native to Brazil (Amazonian domain), 6-12 m tall, with a broad crown and violet flowers in pendulous inflorescences. It nodulates...
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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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freijo
Cordia goeldiana
Secondary II Emergent Mulch biomassAmazonian emergent tree, listed by Embrapa Amazônia Oriental among key timber species for SAFs with fruit trees. Mahogany-grade timber — sliced and...
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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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giant bamboo
Dendrocalamus asper
Secondary I Emergent Mulch biomassOne of the most economically important giant bamboos, a clumping species native to Southeast Asia, with culms 15–20 m tall and up to 20 cm in diame...
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giant bamboo
Dendrocalamus giganteus
Secondary I Emergent Mulch biomassOne of the largest bamboos in the world, a clumping species native to India, Myanmar, Thailand and southern China, with culms commonly reaching 30 ...
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baru nut
Dipteryx alata
Climax EmergentNative Cerrado leguminous tree reaching over 25 m. Although a legume, it does not form root nodules with N-fixing bacteria — relies on N from groun...
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tonka bean
Dipteryx odorata
Climax Emergent Mulch biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerEmergent Amazonian tree (15–30 m), relative of baru (Dipteryx alata, already in canon but Cerrado). Seeds (beans) with intense vanilla-coumarin aro...
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earpod tree
Enterolobium contortisiliquum
Climax Emergent Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerLarge nitrogen-fixing leguminous tree native to the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. EcoAgri lists it in the emergent stratum of the '> 50 years' bin. ...
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rose gum
Eucalyptus grandis
Secondary I Emergent Mulch biomassTypical accumulation species in syntropic systems: cover biomass, timber in 15 years. Non-native but widely used in Brazilian SAFs.
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garlic tree
Gallesia integrifolia
Climax Emergent Mulch biomassEmergent tree of the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado with a strong garlic smell when wounded. EcoAgri lists it in the emergent stratum of the '> 50 yea...
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genipa
Genipa americana
Climax High No biomass productionPan-Brazilian native fruit (Cerrado, MA, Amazonia, Pantanal). EcoAgri lists it in the high stratum of the '> 50 years' bin. Edible fruit and source...
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guadua
Guadua angustifolia
Secondary I Emergent Mulch biomassA woody clumping bamboo native to Central and South America, regarded as the finest structural bamboo of the Americas. It forms straight, strong cu...
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taquarucu bamboo
Guadua tagoara
Secondary I High Mulch biomassA bamboo native to the Atlantic Forest, distributed from Santa Catarina to Bahia, where it forms the characteristic bamboo thickets. It can reach a...
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West Indian elm
Guazuma ulmifolia
Secondary I High Mulch biomassFast-growing pioneer tree native to the Cerrado, Pantanal, and Atlantic Forest. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3 and in the 10–20 ye...
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yellow trumpet tree
Handroanthus albus
Climax Emergent Mulch biomassLong-cycle climax with premium timber. Characteristic of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. Spectacular winter bloom.
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yellow lapacho
Handroanthus chrysotrichus
Climax High No biomass productionMedium-tall tree of the southern and southeastern Atlantic Forest (8–15 m). Vivid golden-yellow flowering in August–September, denser than the cerr...
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pink lapacho
Handroanthus impetiginosus
Climax Emergent Mulch biomassEmergent tree native to Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Amazon, and Pantanal. Reaches 20–35 m in the wild, 8–12 m in cultivation. Vivid magenta...
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rubber tree
Hevea brasiliensis
Secondary II High Mulch biomassAmazonian latex (natural rubber) tree. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3 and cites it explicitly among the 40-year phase species of t...
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jatoba
Hymenaea courbaril
Climax Emergent Mulch biomassTropical climax with extremely dense timber; fruit pulp is edible. Common in syntropic abundance systems.
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Cerrado jatobá
Hymenaea stigonocarpa
Climax HighDeciduous leguminous tree 5–20 m tall, typical of open cerrado and campo-cerrado on well-drained soils. Unlike most Fabaceae, it does not form N-fi...
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arara nut tree
Joannesia princeps
Climax Emergent Mulch biomassAtlantic Forest emergent surviving 80+ years. Rebello highlights its key successional role: planted with embaúba (secondary I, 10–20 yr) and guapur...
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pacari
Lafoensia pacari
Climax Medium No biomass productionCerrado and Pantanal native tree, listed by EcoAgri in the medium stratum of the '> 50 years' bin. Bark traditionally used as a wound-healing and a...
❓ Frequently asked questions
What does "Timber" mean in syntropic agriculture?
Species whose trunks yield construction or fine-furniture timber. In syntropic systems the long cycle (decades to centuries) makes timber a long-term store of value.
Which catalog species are tagged Timber?
The catalog holds 74 species, among them silk floss tree, fairchild's clitoria, diesel tree. Each profile shows stratum, succession stage, and the management data, with sources cited.