Feb 11 Article about the 500-year-old Sapucaia in Bahia

One of the areas where Canopée will carry out projects to Reduce Emissions from Avoided Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is a farm owned by Michelin, a French tire manufacturer, located in the southern region of Bahia. During a field visit to the site, forestry engineer and Canopée member Gustavo Baêsso was very surprised to find a sapucaia tree that was over 500 years old: “It took almost 5 hours of walking through dense forest to get to the site. This tree is in a place that was deforested, probably several times in the past, but neither the Indians, nor the Portuguese, nor the loggers, nor the locals had the courage to cut it down. There are only trees of this size and age nearby!”.

The sapucaia, which can also be known as the bucket tree or monkey bowl, was first described in 1829 (CAMBESSEDES, 1829) and is normally 20 to 30 meters tall, and can reach up to 50 meters according to Mori and Prance (1990). The sapucaia can be used in several ways: its seeds, a type of nut, are appreciated for being extremely tasty, and are also attractive to fauna. In addition, its woody fruit can be used as a container, like a type of bowl. Finally, its wood is still used for several purposes. Its high density allows the production of musical instruments, civil construction structures, boats, among other materials such as weapons, tools and fence posts.

Knowing the entire history of deforestation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, it is extremely interesting to think that this tree has existed in the south of Bahia since the Portuguese first arrived in Brazil, and that, to this day, it produces viable and vigorous seeds every year! According to locals, one of the factors that may have contributed to its preservation is a legend that says that this sapucaia is a sacred tree. For us at Canopée, it is an honor to be able to protect such an imposing tree that is so revered by local residents. These are the wonders that nature can offer us and that it is now up to us to preserve and care for!

Sources:

SOUZA, Alexandre et al. Understanding Amazonian Plant Species: Sapucaia (Lecythis pisonis Cambess. – Lecythidaceae). Technical Communication – Embrapa, November 2014, Belém, Pará. Available at: COMUNICADO_TECNICO_250.indd (embrapa.br).

CAMBESSEDES, J. Lecythis pisonis. In: SAINT-HILAIRE, A. de; CAMBESSÈDES, J.; JUSSIEU, A. de. Flora Brasiliae Meridionalis, ed. 4, v. 2, n. 20, p. 377. 1829.

MORI, S.A.; PRANCE, G. T. The “sapucaia” group of Lecythis (Lecythidaceae). Brittonia, v. 33, no. 1. 70-80 p. 1981.