Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Guanacaste Tree - The National Tree of Costa Rica

The unusual Guanacaste Seed Pod
The Guanacaste Tree is the National Tree of Costa Rica. It is an evergreen (or briefly deciduous tree), known especially for its superlative proportions. Becuase of its immense size and the shade it provides from the sun it is one of the best known trees in Costa Rica.


In Finca Di Pacifico Dos, our teak plantation, with land for future development, 60 ha will remain as natural park or forest reserve. Within these preserved areas are a number of these immense Guanacaste trees, including one giant specimen of over 200 years of age.
The Guanacase tree also has unusually shaped seed pods, resembling mushroom caps filled with seeds which rattle when the seed pods are shaken.

The Guanacaste trees typically flowers from February through to May and the flowers have an intense and beautiful aroma.


Humberto Camareno, the manager of Matenimiento Forestales our recommended foresty maintenance company poses beside our largest Guanacaste tree - over 200 years of age and a magnificent specimen








One of our beautiful 200 year old jungle giants
Posted by Unknown at 6:45 AM
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4 comments:

  1. Ives Images Photo-ArtApril 27, 2009 at 7:30 AM

    My husband and I are using Guanacaste rough cut lumber to build some shelves. The wood is very damp still. How does one treat this wood if we want to use it for rough shelving so that it does not make paper products stored on top of it damp. We would like to use it for book shelves. If you know where we can find this information it would be most appreciated.
    Jeanita

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  2. UnknownApril 27, 2009 at 7:52 AM

    Hi you will need to reduce the moisture content to about 8% or less prior to use.

    You have two choices - air dry (approx 1 year per 1" thickness), or build a solar kiln to dry out the timber (30 - 60 days drying time).

    You can read a little bit about these two processes at this link http://www.allwoodwork.com/article/woodwork/preparinglumber.htm I hope this is of some assistance.

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  3. Green DeaneJuly 8, 2009 at 1:38 PM

    I read the green fruit of this tree is edible. If so, how? Boiled? How long. Eaten whole or the seeds?

    tuba@cfl.rr.com

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  4. UnknownJuly 9, 2009 at 1:51 AM

    Many animals eat the Guancaste Fruit and also swallow the hard seeds which are then dispersed by the animals over large areas.

    If you plan on eating the fruit yourself eating the seeds is not to be recommended (very hard). The fruit is ripe for eating in March / April The fruit can be eaten raw,and I have not heard of it being cooked / boiled but preparing it by cooking can certainly be tried.

    It is not a frequently eaten fruit.

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