Ironwood

Dialium guianense (Aubl.) Sandwith (Fabaceae, Dialioideae), ironwood, paque or tamarindo de monte, is a large evergreen canopy tree of moist and seasonally dry lowland forests of the Neotropics, ranging from southern Mexico and the Caribbean lowlands of Central America through the Guianas and Amazon basin to Bolivia and southern Brazil. Mature trees reach 25-40 m tall with a long straight cylindrical trunk up to 1 m in diameter, often slightly buttressed at the base, supporting a dense, dark green crown. The bark is grey-brown, smooth to slightly scaly and exudes a reddish sap. Leaves are alternate, imparipinnate, 10-20 cm long, with five to seven alternate, asymmetrically ovate to oblong leaflets 4-9 cm long. Terminal and axillary panicles bear many small fragrant whitish flowers with reduced petals and conspicuous stamens. The fruit is a small subglobose indehiscent pod 1.5-2.5 cm across with a brittle black velvety shell enclosing a sweet brown pulp and one or two flat hard seeds.