
''Ocotea porosa'', commonly called imbuia or Brazilian walnut, is a species of plant in the
Lauraceae
Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...
family. Its wood is very hard, and it is a major commercial timber species in Brazil.
Taxonomy and naming
It is often placed in the related
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
, ''
Phoebe''. It is commonly called imbuia, and is also known as Brazilian walnut, because its wood resembles that of some
walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
s (to which it is not related).
[
Portuguese common names (with variant spellings) include embuia, embúia, embuya, imbuia, imbúia, imbuya, canela-imbuia.
]
Habitat
The tree grows naturally in the subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
montane Araucaria forests of southern Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, mostly in the states of Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to:
Geology
* Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America
Places In Argentina
*Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city
* Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province
In Brazil
*Paraná (state), a state ...
and Santa Catarina (where it is the official state tree since 1973), and in smaller numbers in São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
and Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
. The species may also occur in adjacent Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and/or Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
.
In its native habitat it is a threatened species
A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...
.
Description
The trees typically reach in height and in trunk
Trunk may refer to:
Biology
* Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso
* Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure, and the stem of woody plants
* Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy
* Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant
Comput ...
diameter.
The wood is very hard, measuring 3,684 lbf (16,390 N) on the Janka
Janka is a given name or a surname. The name is a form of the originally Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (meaning "God is merciful"). Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Carlo Janka (born 1986), Swiss alpine ski racer
* Erika Jänkä (bo ...
scale. The wood is also fragrant with hints of nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...
and cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...
(also a member of the Lauraceae).
Uses
The tree is a major commercial timber species in Brazil, used for high-end furniture
Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
, mostly as decorative veneers, and as flooring
Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. ...
.
References
porosa
Endemic flora of Brazil
Trees of Brazil
Flora of Paraná (state)
Flora of Rio de Janeiro (state)
Flora of Rio Grande do Sul
Flora of Santa Catarina (state)
Flora of São Paulo (state)
Trees of mild maritime climate
Vulnerable flora of South America
Garden plants of South America
Ornamental trees
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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