Phytolacca dioica

Common card · No. 484761

Phytolacca dioica, commonly known as ombú in Spanish and umbu in Portuguese, is a massive evergreen tree in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae, native to the Pampas of South America. As its specific epithet suggests, it is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The flowers are pollinated by the butterfly Doxocopa laurentia. It has an umbrella-like canopy that spreads to a diameter of 12 to 15 m (39 to 49 ft) and can attain a height of 12 to 18 m (39 to 59 ft). This upper growth springs up from a tuberous caudex, which can reach up to 14 m (46 ft) girth. Because it is derived from herbaceous ancestors, its trunk consists of anomalous secondary thickening rather than true wood. As a result, the ombú grows fast but its wood is soft and spongy enough to be cut with a knife. These properties have led it to be used in the art of bonsai, as it is easily manipulated to create the desired effect. Since the sap is poisonous, the ombú is not grazed by cattle and is immune to locusts...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Gabriel Collares, CC BY 4.0