Skip to content
sintropia.club
PT EN

Plants

brazilwood

Paubrasilia echinata (Lam.) Gagnon, H.C.Lima & G.P.Lewis

Family: Fabaceae · Genus: Paubrasilia

pernambuco wood, pau-brasil

Climax Medium
Filipi Miranda Soares · CC BY · iNaturalist

National tree of Brazil, endemic to the coastal Atlantic Forest. Slow-growing; climax-community species that develops best when planted under secondary forest. Wood historically used for red dye.

📚 Synonyms

Scientific synonyms: Caesalpinia echinata Lam., Guilandina echinata (Lam.) Spreng., Caesalpinia vesicaria Vell.

Götsch succession

Götsch stage
Climax
Ecological role
Climax
Primary stratum
Medium
Strata
Medium, High

Environment

Light requirement
Partial shade
Water requirement
Moderate
Drought tolerance
High
Preferred soil texture
Sandy, Loamy

Morphology

Mature height
8–15 m
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
100–300 years

Biomes & climate

Köppen classes

Where it fits in a guild

Brazilwood takes the Medium stratum in the Climax phase of succession — in a guild it shares the line with species from the other strata, each harvesting light at its own height, in its own time.

Design my guild

Free account — and the catalog stays open, no sign-up needed.

Emergent High Medium · ≈15 m Low Ground cover

🪴 Cultivation

Slow-growing, long-lived (~300 yr) endangered Atlantic Forest tree; propagate from fresh seed (recalcitrant — no storage or scarification, germinates in 8–15 days) and shade seedlings in year one. Prefers well-drained sandy soil, tolerates drought and salt-laden winds once established. Does NOT fix nitrogen (non-nodulating Caesalpinioideae).

📅 Phenology

Flowering months: September, October

Fruiting months: October, November, December, January, February

❓ Frequently asked questions

How tall does brazilwood grow?

At maturity, brazilwood reaches 8–15 m tall.

When does brazilwood fruit?

Fruiting of brazilwood occurs in October, November, December, January, February.

When does brazilwood flower?

Flowering of brazilwood occurs in September, October.

What stage and stratum does brazilwood occupy in a syntropic system?

In a syntropic system, brazilwood belongs to the climax stage, occupying the medium stratum.

Functions

Timber Dye Ornamental Ritual

Propagation

Seed, Cutting

Citations

  1. Paubrasilia — Wikipedia
  2. Paubrasilia echinata — Useful Tropical Plants
  3. Paubrasilia echinata — Useful Tropical Plants (height_min_m, height_max_m, growth_rate, drought_tolerance, soil_texture_preference, propagation, cultivation_notes, synonyms)
  4. de Faria et al. 1989, New Phytologist 111:607 — Caesalpinia non-nodulating (nitrogen_fixer)
  5. EMBRAPA/Carvalho — Pau-brasil, fenologia e longevidade (phenology, lifespan_years_min, lifespan_years_max)
  6. IPNI / Flora do Brasil — Paubrasilia echinata (Lam.) Gagnon, H.C.Lima & G.P.Lewis (external_ids, synonyms)

External references

Continue exploring

Related plants