"Heliotropism—turning towards where the sun is—
that’s a form of consciousness. There is a plant
consciousness, an animal consciousness. …I begin
to
feel more and more that the whole world is conscious."
-Joseph Campbell
This page includes an abbreviated version of our ever-developing catalogue of the trees planted by Camino Verde. Though the list will probably never be complete, we hope to inform a bit about these remarkable beings to whom we owe our air. Plants are listed alphabetically by scientific name. Common names in (1st) Spanish and (2nd) English are provided. Becoming a Member (or by a one time donation of 100 dollars) will give you access to our much more extensive, non-abbreviated plant database. To access the complete database, click here.
Cedrela odorata – Cedro (Fino) – Cedar
The founder of Camino Verde, Robin Van Loon, cites cedro or cedar (not to be confused with conifer cedars of North America, to which this tree has no relation) as one of the most aesthetically “likeable” trees in the rain forest. Cedro is probably best known for its superb wood, of a different style from mahogany but certainly of the same quality for the production of furniture for example. But the living tree is one of the most strikingly attractive in the rain forest. Cascades of ordered pairs of dark green leaves form the crown, always nicely shaped over a tall trunk of deeply grooved, patterned bark that tends to be silvery brown or mossy green. Unlike mahogany, which suffers from certain species-specific pests, cedro grows without major problems in plantation conditions, and with a little bit of companion planting and microclimate management, cedro can be encouraged to grow quite quickly—to be harvested within twenty or thirty years. In some areas cedro’s inner bark is used as a remedy for certain fevers and flus.
Copaifera officinalis – Copaiba
The copaiba tree can grow to be large and incredibly handsome. The wood is sought-after for construction and is both durable and attractive. Copaiba resin ranks alongside Sangre de Grado among the most commonly commercialized medicinal plant products of the Peruvian Amazon. The yellow translucent oil has a strong, clear and slightly piney smell and is used for everything from infection prevention on external wounds to care for ulcers. Depending on who you talk to, copaiba resin has dozens of uses. Copaiba resin has been claimed by many to be the source also of incienso, the generic-sounding name for a specific kind of yellow incense sold in “witches’ markets” throughout Perú. This clear yellow resin incense smells convincingly similar to copaiba oil, though we have still not been able to verify for sure that they are truly from the same tree, and if so, how copaiba oil is solidified into the copal-like pieces of resin that are burned. Unfortunately, copaiba oil extraction usually involves a mortal wounding of the tree: boring a hole all the way to the heart allowing the oil to slowly drip out. The center at Baltimori is home to fifty or so two-year-old reforested copaiba trees.
Croton draconoides – Sangre de Grado
Sangre de Grado is a medicinal jungle tree that prefers to grow in the bajío—lower-lying areas of the jungle prone to seasonal flooding or at least highly humid conditions—and along the edges of rivers and streams. The center at Baltimori, which is a bajío area, has proved an excellent site for the propogation of this valuable tree, with fifty trees planted in the first year. The rusty red blood-like resin of the tree serves as an important medicine and commercial product. Wade Davis in One River writes, “Placed on an open wound, the resin dries into an antiseptic seal, a protective cover known to the Indians as a liquid bandage. In ways that modern science has yet to understand, the compounds in the resin accelerate healing in a remarkable manner. Wounds and lacerations that in the tropics would normally fester instead heal within days, without infection and without leaving a scar.” Davis’s observations (or rather Shultes’s, who Davis is citing) are consistent with how Sangre de Grado is used in Perú, although it is also included in many internal remedies for liver- and blood-cleansing. It is effective enough and well-known enough that it is easily purchased even in high Andean and coastal cities of Perú. Due to a relatively short shelf-life of a few weeks (very probably prolongable by introduction of alcohol or some other simple preservative), Sangre de Grado has yet to find widespread use outside of Perú, and Sangre de Grado sold outside the Amazon should be regarded as of suspicious efficacy unless it contains alcohol. Granted an appropriate preservation method is discovered, and barring interference from threatened pharmaceutical companies, Sangre de Grado has the potential for widespread use around the world and as an important cash crop for jungle horticulturalists.
Hymenaea oblongifolia – Azúcar Huayo
Despite the claims citing chihuahuaco or so-called “ironwood” as the hardest wood in the jungle, or other contenders like huayra caspi, tamarindo, estoraque and tahuarí, at least one community of natives in Madre de Dios grants that distinction to azucarhuayo, or azúcar huayo. One man confirms that he has “broken more axes on azúcar huayo than on any other wood.” Unlike the other hardwoods whose appearance and characteristics resemble some kind of organic rock, azúcar huayo’s strength comes from the resinous mass of twisting fibers that braid and gum together to form an extremely durable whole. Typically the heartwood of azúcar huayo is dark brown with the outer rings a lighter color. All the wood is prized for parquet, and unfortunately for tree populations this timber has recently been selling well on international markets. The thick layer of inner bark is used in remedies related to circulation and blood; and the fruit of the tree consists of a hard, almond shaped pit surrounded by a greenish floury paste that is earthy but remarkably sweet—hence the name azúcar huayo, which means “sugar fruit” or “sugar nut” (azúcar is Spanish and wayo is Quechua). Additionally, near the base of the tree are sometimes found fist-sized balls of resin, translucent yellow or tannin red in color. This resin is burnt by many native groups as a cleansing incense. According to one source, this rare resin can be encouraged to coagulate into balls by making small holes through the bark at intervals on the tree, but it is likely that this practice is harmful to the tree and perhaps provides lesser yields than the tree itself if left alone. Finally, the hard seed in the fruit is commonly used in bead necklaces as it is an attractive shiny dark brown. We have begun experimenting with approaches to propogate this tree with relative success; our first attempts have yielded a half dozen healthy saplings. It appears that scarifying (nicking) the seedcoat can give a very high germination rate, granted that the seeds are in good shape and have not suffered overexposure to moisture before planting. For the coming year our plan is to buy azúcar huayo seed from local foragers and gatherers at fair prices in order to produce and plant fifty to a hundred trees. This would begin to draw interest and give value to the living tree—and its seed—as never before. This is but one of hundreds of examples of overlooked and under-appreciated resources in the jungle.
Inga edulis – Guaba – Inga
Guaba (pronounced WAH-bah) is a leguminous nitrogen-fixing tree native to the Peruvian Amazon known by the local population primarily for its two-foot-long, green bean-like fruit which contains a sweet white flesh surrounding big black seeds. In studies realized by engineers affiliated with the Peruvian government, the guaba tree was determined as the soil-improver par excellance for Peru’s tropical areas. More so than any of the other tested species (Acacia spp., Albizia lebeck, Cajanus cajan, Calliandra spp., Cassia reticulata, Erythrina poeppigiana, Gliricidia sepium, Grevillea robusta, Leucaena spp., Sesbania spp., Tamarindus indica), guaba and other Inga species were lauded for their capacity to create rich organic matter through copious leaf litter, nitrogen fixing, and unusual amounts of dropped sticks and fruits providing a fertile mulch for all manner of crops and orchards. Guaba is one of the primary trees used by Camino Verde for soil rehabilitation of deforested areas and ongoing soil-nutrient contributions to all of our fruit orchards. Kids love scouring this climber-friendly tree for the delicious fruits as well.
Swietenia macrophylla – Caoba – Mahogany
Probably the most famous and sought-after—and thus the most endangered—of all the fine jungle timbers, the “true” mahogany of the Amazon (as opposed to the many mahogany-like timbers from Africa and other parts of the world) now shares the place historically held by gold and rubber: the place of an over-exploited resource that has helped to bring a small tidal wave of speculating immigrants to the jungle. Finding old-growth mahoganies is now almost impossible, even in conservation areas where rumors have it that bribed forestry officials make a living off of looking the other way. Even so, a mahogany with a ten or twelve foot diameter was not unheard of even twenty years ago. Because of its exceptionally high price, mahogany is one of the few timber trees that is commonly planted for commercial production, regardless of the twenty to forty years needed for a tree to reach harvesting size. One forward-thinking farmer even has planted ten or twenty mahogany trees for each of his children as a kind of trust fund; when his children get to be forty years old, a single tree could provide them with five thousand dollars of income. In this way mahogany provides an intriguing counterpoint to the overly common short-term thinking among those in the business of lumber extraction. The center at Baltimori is home to roughly a hundred five-year-old mahogany trees, some nearly a foot in diameter and fifteen feet tall. In addition to the excellent wood, mahogany is used also for its inner bark, which provides a fine black dye.
