Parkia velutina Benoist

Common Name and Height

Parkia velutina, commonly called corezeiro, is a 40-meter-tall rainforest tree native to tropical South America.

Taxonomy

It is classified in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae.

Leaf Structure

Its leaves are tripinnate, with 30 to 45 pairs of primary pinnae arranged opposite or subopposite along the leaf rachis; primary pinnae counts can rarely range as low as 17 pairs or as high as 55 pairs.

Leaflet Count

Each individual pinna holds 40 to 110 pairs of leaflets.

Inflorescence and Pollination

This tree produces flowers in a compound, pear-shaped inflorescence, and its flowers are pollinated by bees from the genus Megalopta.