Common name: Panama tree Botanical name: Sterculia apetala Family name: Sterculiaceae
The word “panama” is from the Indian language, meaning abundance of butterflies and fish. The gigantic Panama tree is related to the cacao-tree. The Panama tree can grow 40 m (131 ft) tall and have a trunk diameter of 2 m (6.5 ft). The crown is beautiful, wide and round-shaped. Thanks to the support pillars growing on the lower part of the trunk, the Panama tree can be identified from far away. The surface of the trunk seems to be smooth, but feels like sandpaper when touched. The trunk is used to make canoes. The yellowish-red wood, being beautiful, lasting and hard, is in great demand as a construction material. The Panama tree blooms from November to March and bears fruit from January to April. The flowers are lovely, small and bell-shaped with a dark red centre, growing in clusters. The seeds inside the fruits are called chestnuts and are edible boiled or
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