Plant Catalog · Sintropia

malagueta pepper

Capsicum frutescens

Very pungent Brazilian pepper (60,000–100,000 SHU), small upright red fruits. Perennial in tropical zones (3–5 years). Tolerates light shade. Widel...

trumpet tree

Cecropia pachystachya

Placenta II Medium Mulch biomass

Fast-growing, short-lived (~20 years) pioneer tree that colonizes edges and gaps in all Brazilian biomes. Fruits eaten by birds and primates; symbi...

vetiver

Chrysopogon zizanioides

Placenta II Low Mulch biomass

Perennial grass with deep vertical roots (up to 4 m), originally from India. The Bosque de Niebla Guidebook recommends vetiver as a hedgerow specie...

butterfly pea

Clitoria ternatea

Placenta I Ground cover Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

A 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...

coconut palm

Cocos nucifera

Secondary II Emergent No biomass production

High-value palm naturalized along Brazilian coastlines. Pasini lists it in the emergent stratum of Tabela 3. Tolerates salinity and coastal winds; ...

green dwarf coconut

Cocos nucifera

Secondary II High No biomass production

Green Dwarf cultivar — Brazil's commercial mainstay for coconut water. 8–12 m tall, 30–40 year economic life, first harvest at 2–3 years. Yields 15...

tall coconut

Cocos nucifera

Secondary II Emergent No biomass production

Tall variety — emergent (20–30 m), 60–70 year lifespan, first flowering at 5–7 years. 60–80 large fruits per plant per year for copra, oil, and fib...

hybrid coconut

Cocos nucifera

Secondary II High No biomass production

Dwarf × Tall hybrids registered by Embrapa (BRS 001, 002, 003). Intermediate height (15–20 m), early bearing (4 years), medium fruits. Combine Tall...

camaratuba

Cratylia mollis

Placenta II Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

Native shrubby legume of the Caatinga; one of the most important fodder species of the northeastern semiarid, with strong drought resistance and hi...

sunn hemp

Crotalaria juncea

Placenta I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

Annual 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...

melon

Cucumis melo

Placenta I Ground cover No biomass production

Annual creeping cucurbit. EcoAgri lists it in the ground-cover stratum of the 'up to 6 months' bin. Cultivated in hot, dry climates; very popular i...

lemongrass

Cymbopogon citratus

Placenta I Low Mulch biomass

Perennial aromatic grass (1–1.5 m) forming dense clumps. Lemon-scented leaves (citral). Permanent cover between tree rows in syntropic systems, mos...

yellow yam

Dioscorea cayennensis

Placenta II Medium No biomass production

Tuber-bearing climber cultivated in the medium stratum of syntropic systems. Pasini lists yam in the medium stratum of Tabela 3 and in the '1 to 3 ...

mulungu

Erythrina velutina

Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

Brazilian-native nitrogen-fixing tree legume; propagates easily by cuttings and produces abundant fertilizer biomass. Cited by Pasini among tree-fo...

genipa

Genipa americana

Climax High No biomass production

Pan-Brazilian native fruit (Cerrado, MA, Amazonia, Pantanal). EcoAgri lists it in the high stratum of the '> 50 years' bin. Edible fruit and source...

gliricidia

Gliricidia sepium

Secondary I Medium Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

Nitrogen-fixing legume that tolerates drastic pruning and produces fast-decomposing fertilizer biomass. Commonly used as shade for coffee and cocoa...

West Indian elm

Guazuma ulmifolia

Secondary I High Mulch biomass

Fast-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...

mangaba

Hancornia speciosa

Secondary II Medium

Evergreen to semi-deciduous tree 2–10 m tall, characteristic of Brazilian Cerrado and coastal tablelands. Considered one of Brazil's priority 'Plan...

pink lapacho

Handroanthus impetiginosus

Climax Emergent Mulch biomass

Emergent tree native to Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Amazon, and Pantanal. Reaches 20–35 m in the wild, 8–12 m in cultivation. Vivid magenta...

roselle

Hibiscus sabdariffa

Placenta II Medium Mulch biomass

An annual or short-lived subshrub in the Malvaceae, native to Africa and cultivated throughout the tropics. The fleshy red calyces are used to make...

jatoba

Hymenaea courbaril

Climax Emergent Mulch biomass

Tropical climax with extremely dense timber; fruit pulp is edible. Common in syntropic abundance systems.

sweet potato

Ipomoea batatas

Placenta I Ground cover No biomass production

Short-cycle creeping tuber crop. Pasini lists it in the low stratum of Tabela 3. Excellent living ground cover early in the agroforestry cycle, edi...

bellyache bush

Jatropha gossypiifolia

Placenta II Low Mulch biomass

Xerophytic shrub native to the Caatinga, cited by Rebello among plants that thrive in low-rainfall environments, alongside forage cactus and sisal....

arara nut tree

Joannesia princeps

Climax Emergent Mulch biomass

Atlantic Forest emergent surviving 80+ years. Rebello highlights its key successional role: planted with embaúba (secondary I, 10–20 yr) and guapur...