Scientific name: Caesalpinia echinata

Family: Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae.

Origin: Brazil

Popular names: pau-brasil, ibirapitanga, orabutã, brasileto, ibirapiranga, ibirapita, ibirapitã, muirapiranga, pau-rosado, pau-de-pernambuco.

Natural occurrence: from Ceará to Rio de Janeiro, and also in the south of Bahia.

Characteristics: Brazilwood, called 'ibirapitanga' by the Indians, which means “red wood”, is an inedible leguminous tree, with pods covered by a thick, thorny bark, brownish-green in color. It has specimens that are between 10 and 15 meters tall, and the thorny trunk is covered in bark, which covers the orange wood.

Uses: its wood is used in the construction of violin bows. From wood it is also possible to extract “brasileina”, a type of dye, used in dyeing clothes. Due to overexploitation, the species almost became extinct around 1920 and is currently considered in danger of extinction.

See all tree and shrub species mapped on Bahiana