Cavanillesia Platanifolia

H.B.K.

Cuipo (P). One of the most conspicuous elements of the seasonal forests of the Pacific slope of Panama and the Choco, the cuipo is easily recognized from the ground and the air aby its ringed trunk and deciduous umbrella-like crown. The light wood is little used, but formerly served as a balsa substitute. it is sometimes used for making dugouts and trays for washing and retaining foodstuffs. The large seeds are edible (!). The galactose-like gum that exudes from the cut trunk can be eaten without bad effect (!). Negroes in Darien use the gum as a suppurative. The large, porous roots of the tree, if cut into sections, yield a copious supply of potable water (!). Perhaps reflecting the Doctrine of Signatures, the Canasas Cuna believe that this pot-bellied tree is a cure for underweight. For sixteen days, the patiend bathes in an infusion of the bark, and then is supposed to start fattening up (!). Trees outplanted in Puerto Rico in 1947 were 100 feet tall and 5 feet DBH by 1970!