Taralea Aubl.

Legumes of the World. Edited by G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. MacKinder & M. Lock. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (2005)

Note

The earlier affinities of this group of genera are discussed by Polhill (1981c). The analysis of Pennington et al. (2001) confirms that the three genera of Dipterygeae form a monophyletic group which is sister to elements within Swartzieae sens. lat. and Sophoreae sens. lat. (Fig. 30). The Amazonian genus Monopteryx (treated here in tribe Sophoreae) may belong with this group (Lima, pers. comm.). Two of the three genera in Dipterygeae are essentially Amazonian wet forest in distribution (Dipteryx also occurring in Central America with a single species to drier areas in central Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay), while Pterodon inhabits the drier areas of east and central Brazil and east Bolivia. Wood anatomy has proved diagnostic, particularly in distinguishing between Dipteryx and Taralea (Gasson, 1999), and this has underpinned the conclusions of Lewis & Gasson (2000). The tribe as treated here comprises c. 22 species.

Vernacular

tarala

Habit

Trees and shrubs

Ecology

Tropical lowland rain forest (riverine and non-inundated or inundated plains) to seasonally dry forest (sometimes on white sand), woodland and marshes; also 1-2 spp. in montane forest and open moist woodland to scrub on sandstone

Distribution

Amazonian S America (Venezuela (4 spp.), the Guianas, Amazonian Brazil, Columbia and Peru)

Use

The very hard wood is suitable for construction and firewood; T. oppositifolia Aubl. (cumaru-da-praia) contains an unscented oil extracted for industrial use