Madre de Cacao Tree
Family: Febaceae; Species: Gliricidia sepium
This tree can grow to 10 meters tall with a trunk to 30 centimeters in diameter. Components had several uses. Water made from the bark was used for washing tired, burning or irritated eyes. Ground bark mixed with ground corn was used as a rat poison. In Mexico, a brown soap known as cacahuananche is also made from the bark for use on hair, skin or laundry.
The wood is very hard and durable. As seen in the photograph below, it was commonly used in the building of Mayan houses as the center support pole and as perimeter posts. This photograph was taken as Filiberto Teck of San Victor began building an authentic Mayan hut for some team members to stay in during their mission trip.
The name for this tree is Madre de Cacao which is Spanish for cocoa mother. This name was probably adopted since another common use for this tree was a living canopy for smaller cocoa trees or coffee shrubs.
Source: Rainforest Remedies (Arvigo & Balick) and oral history project
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| Madre de Cacao Tree | Leaves & Blooms | Madre de Cacao pole & some posts |
Logwood or Tinta Tree
Family: Fabaceae; Genus: Haematoxylum; Species: H. campechianum
The Logwood tree was once an important source of red dye. The tree's scientific name means 'bloodwood' ('haima' being Greek for 'blood' and 'xulon' Greek for wood) from the Campeche region of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The Logwood grows throughout Central America. It led to the founding of the modern nation of Belize, which grew from British logging camps of the 17th century. It is still an important source of haematoxylin, used in histology for staining.
The bark and leaves are used in various medical applications. The wood is also very hard and durable. Like Madre de Cacao, it was used in building Mayan huts. Urbano Campos told us during his interview that a Tinta post from his original house still stands near the corner of his current house.
Tinta is the Spanish word for ink or dye. This was the term most frequently used by narrators during their interviews.
There is an extensive article on logwood at http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph4.htm
Source: Wikipedia and oral history project.
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| Logwood Leaves | Logwood Tree |