Region: south America, Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela and the Guyanas.
Habitat: primary or secondary semi-deciduous, broad leafed forests; savannah and ridge forests; on higher banks of rivers; prefers a sunny position.
Use: edible, seed fruits, pulp as food, drink; medicine; wood for general construction, internal work, floorboards, lathe work, furniture, carpentry, cabinet making; ornamental, in urban and rural planting schemes; bark for resin, hard, translucent, fracturing easily, pungent even when old and dried, known
as 'Busnigre Kandra', 'Boesnegre Kandra', 'Hyawa gum' or 'Ronima resin', for incense, varnishes, red body paint, making pots, as a glaze
Content: resin, 30% protamyrine; 25% proteleminic acid; 37.5% protelresin.
BotanyEvergreen tree; large, dense crown; 10 to 20 metres tall.
Stem: 40 to 60cm in diameter; heartwood is light brown, not demarcated from the sapwood, texture is medium, grain irregular, medium lustre is medium, no distinctive taste or aroma, moderately heavy, compact, hard, of great durability in dry places, quite elastic, easy to work, producing a good finish.
Flowers: dioecious