Chrysobalanaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Hirtella racemosa

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Hirtella racemosa is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a wide, but thin crown; it usually only grows up to 4 - 5 metres tall, though it sometimes becomes a medium-sized tree. The small bole is usually less than 10cm in diameter[ 510 Title Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope Publication Author Website http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. , 735 Title Chrysobalanaceae Part 2. Species Plantarum: Flora of the World, Part 19: 1-268 Publication Author Prance G.T.; Sothers C.A. Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb Publisher Australian Biological Resources Study; Canberra. Year 2003 ISBN 0 642 56833 2 Description An excellent monograph, part of a very ambitious project to catalogue all the plants in the world. It can be downloaded as a PDF file from the Internet. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, whilst the flexible branches are used in making traditional buildings. Hirtella racemosa has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeS. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, the Guyanas; C. America - Panama to Mexico; Caribbean - Trinidad.

HabitatLower layers of primary forests, usually on the well-drained soils of hills, slopes and ridges[ 510 Title Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope Publication Author Website http://www.cds.ed.cr/teachers/harmon/page1.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Information on over 80 species of tree from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. ]. Primary forest, especially beside rivers and streams, but also in the understorey; on non-flooded ground[ 735 Title Chrysobalanaceae Part 2. Species Plantarum: Flora of the World, Part 19: 1-268 Publication Author Prance G.T.; Sothers C.A. Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb Publisher Australian Biological Resources Study; Canberra. Year 2003 ISBN 0 642 56833 2 Description An excellent monograph, part of a very ambitious project to catalogue all the plants in the world. It can be downloaded as a PDF file from the Internet. ].