''Machaerium villosum'', the jacarandá-do-cerrado, jacarandá-pardo, jacarandá-paulista, or jacarandá-pedra, is a native tree belonging to the Fabaceae

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, primarily in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. These trees preferably grown on the

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are ...

and

Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

, but they can also inhabit the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and t ...

. They are currently vulnerable due to logging and, primarily, habitat loss for agriculture and livestock.

Characteristics

Flowers and fruits

The jacarandás-paulista have panicle-type

inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...

, composed of white flowers with a green and white striped

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

, that emits a sweet scent to attract its pollinators. This plant produces samara-type fruits, typically dispersed by the wind. Flowering usually occurs from August to January, peaking between October and December, while fruiting is observed throughout the year, mainly between January and June. Flowers and fruits can be found in January, March, and October.

Wood

This tree can provide hardwood very similar to that of jacarandá-da-bahia (''Dalbergia nigra''). Its surface is irregularly shiny, with a brown trunk featuring reflections, stripes, or dark shadows. It is widely used in the manufacture of luxury furniture, decorative items, parquet, and flooring.

References

villosum Flora of Brazil Vulnerable plants Flora of the Cerrado Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Dalbergieae-stub