Oreomunnea mexicana
Oreomunnea mexicana is a tropical tree in the walnut family living in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, at elevations of about 1,000 to 1,700 meters. It is commonly called guayabo amarillo or remiendo.
Key facts:
- Size and look: It can reach 30 meters or more tall, with a trunk up to 1.5 meters wide and often has buttresses. It can resemble a walnut tree.
- Bark and wood: The bark on mature trees peels off. The heartwood is pink, and the pith is solid (not hollow).
- Buds and leaves: Buds are protected by a yellow-scaled coating. Leaves are opposite, leathery, and pinnately compound with short petioles (under 3.3 cm) and short leaf stalks of the leaflets (under 3 mm). Leaflets reach about 10 cm long, and are 4–5 times longer than wide. The top of the leaf is bluish-green, while the underside has a light yellow-brown bloom.
- Inflorescence: Flower clusters are panicles and can be androgynous (a mix of male and female parts) or all male or all female.
- Fruit: The fruit is a three-winged nut about 7 mm in diameter.
- Germination: The seeds germinate underground (hypogeal). The first two leaves are opposite and pinnately compound, and the next leaves (about 3–6 dm long) are arranged alternately.
- Subspecies and names: There are two subspecies — O. mexicana subsp. mexicana and O. mexicana subsp. costaricensis. Synonyms for the main form include Engelhardia nicaraguensis and Engelhardia mexicana.
- Other facts: The species has a chromosome number of 2n = 32.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:25 (CET).