Region: south America, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas; central America, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala.
Habitat: tropical and subtropical; edges of rainforests, along the sides of rivers; wooded slopes; elevations from 1,065 - 1,220 metres.
Content: latex from the fruit; xanthonoids;anthracene derivatives like vismin, ferruginins A and B, haruganin, ferruanthrone; vismiaquinone.
Use: medicinal; wood for timber, fuel.
BotanySmall trees and shrubs; spreading crown; 10 metres tall.
Stem: heartwood reddish to dark brown; pinkish brown sapwood with greyish cast; wood is medium to fairly coarse textured, moderately light to medium heavy, fibrous; brittle, easy to work, takes a fairly lustrous or lustrous finish, moderately durable.