Plant Catalog · Sintropia

century plant

Agave americana

Pivotal species of the accumulation phase on exhausted soils. Rebello describes its use in Chapada dos Veadeiros: planted at 20 cm spacing on near-...

sisal

Agave sisalana

Placenta II Low Mulch biomass

Xerophytic agave domesticated in Mesoamerica and produced at scale in Bahia. Rebello lists it among species adapted to very dry Caatinga environmen...

amburana

Amburana cearensis

Climax High Mulch biomass

Premium-timber leguminous tree native to Caatinga, Cerrado, and dry Atlantic Forest. EcoAgri lists it in the high stratum of the '> 50 years' bin. ...

dwarf early-bearing cashew

Anacardium occidentale

Secondary II High No biomass production

Embrapa dwarf early-bearing cashew clones — 4–6 m height vs. 8–15 m of common cashew. First fruits at 18–24 months (vs. 4 years for the common cash...

cashew

Anacardium occidentale

Secondary II High No biomass production

Native fruit tree of the Cerrado and Caatinga; produces a pseudofruit (the cashew apple) and the true cashew nut. Pasini lists it in the emergent s...

cebil

Anadenanthera colubrina

Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

Fast-growing pioneer legume, nitrogen fixer. Adapted to poor and degraded soils; widely used in restoration of degraded areas across Caatinga, Cerr...

marolo

Annona crassiflora

Secondary I Medium

Native, endemic tree of the Brazilian Cerrado, reaching 6–8 m with a 2–4 m crown diameter. Fruits have high nutritional and bioactive value.

sugar apple

Annona squamosa

Secondary I High No biomass production

Small tropical fruit tree, same family as graviola. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3. Tolerates poor soils and drought; traditional ...

neem

Azadirachta indica

Secondary I High Mulch biomass

Indian-origin tree adapted to Brazil, the biopesticide species of the Embrapa Vitrine SAF. Leaves and seed oil (azadirachtin) repel more than 200 i...

balcooa bamboo

Bambusa balcooa

Secondary I Emergent Mulch biomass

A large clumping bamboo native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina, with thick culms up to 25 m and thick walls. It is highly valued for const...

mama-cadela

Brosimum gaudichaudii

Secondary II Medium No biomass production

Native Cerrado small tree (3–8 m), exudes white latex. Small orange-yellow edible fruits with sweet taste. Medicinal root — psoralen traditionally ...

nance

Byrsonima crassifolia

Secondary II High No biomass production

Native Cerrado and Caatinga fruit tree with a wide, low crown. EcoAgri lists it in the high stratum of the 'up to 50 years' extras. Small yellow fr...

pigeon pea

Cajanus cajan

Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

Short-cycle shrubby legume that fixes nitrogen, widely used in Brazilian agroforestry as green manure, early shade and food. Vigorous on poor soils.

gabiroba

Campomanesia adamantium

Placenta II Low

Pioneer fruit shrub of the Cerrado that colonizes degraded areas. Deep roots stabilize soil and aid water retention. Edible fruits and medicinal le...

Brazilian jack bean

Canavalia brasiliensis

Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixer

Annual nitrogen-fixing legume native to Brazil, cousin of feijão-de-porco. Listed in Embrapa CT-16 Tabela 1 as a cover crop alongside crotalarias a...

souari nut

Caryocar brasiliense

Climax High

Iconic 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...

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...

baru nut

Dipteryx alata

Climax Emergent

Native 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...

cagaita

Eugenia dysenterica

Secondary II Medium No biomass production

Native Cerrado fruit tree (4–10 m), rounded canopy. Flowers in August–September at peak drought before the rains — white blooms covering bare branc...

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...

Cerrado jatobá

Hymenaea stigonocarpa

Climax High

Deciduous 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...

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....

Brazilian ironwood

Libidibia ferrea

Secondary II High Fertilizer & mulch

Leguminous tree occurring in Caatinga, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. Sun-tolerant and melliferous.

espada mango

Mangifera indica

Secondary II Emergent Mulch biomass

Brazil's oldest mango cultivar. Vigorous tall tree (12–15 m), green-to-yellow fruit with fibrous flesh (300 g, 18° Brix). Today used more as rootst...