Tapirira Fruit Plant (Tapirira guianensis)

Common Name: Tapirira

Botanical Name: Tapirira guianensis

General Information:

Native to Cerrado and Atlantic Forest (ecoregions) vegetation in Brazil. Self-supporting growth form, reaching up to 15 meters tall.

Evergreen tree with a dense, rounded crown. Typically grows 8 - 14 meters tall in Brazil, but can reach 25 meters or more in Panama. Short, straight bowl, 40 - 80cm in diameter.

Harvested for local use as food, with raw, sweet, juicy grape-like tasting fruits.

Medicinal Uses:

Oleoresin obtained from stems, is recommended for syphilitic ulcers. Finely ground bark ingested for children's thrush.

Bark decoction used as a fever bath and infusion for washing ulcers. Inner bark is used for dressing cuts, wounds, and sores, and treating snakebite.

Unspecified part used as a purgative. Tea made from flowers is used for painful urination in elderly persons.

Other Uses:

Heartwood is pale pink to golden brown, used in toys, plywood, crates, boxes, furniture, carvings, soles, broom handles, etc. Light in weight, soft, with moderate mechanical properties, and low durability. Works easily with hand and machine tools, nails well, and polishes satisfactorily.

Cultivation Information:

Bloom Time/Fruiting: 4 to 5 Years

Maintenance Required: Moderate