Ocotea porosa
Species of tree
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ocotea porosa, commonly called imbuia or Brazilian walnut, is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family. Its wood is very hard, and it is a major commercial timber species in Brazil.
| Ocotea porosa | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Ocotea |
| Species: | O. porosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Ocotea porosa (Nees & Martius) Barroso | |
| Synonyms[2] | |

Taxonomy and naming
It is often placed in the related genus, Phoebe. It is commonly called imbuia, and is also known as Brazilian walnut,[3] because its wood resembles that of some walnuts (to which it is not related).[4]
Portuguese common names (with variant spellings) include embuia, embúia, embuya, imbuia, imbúia, imbuya, canela-imbuia.[citation needed]
Habitat
The tree grows naturally in the subtropical montane Araucaria forests of southern Brazil, mostly in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina (where it is the official state tree since 1973), and in smaller numbers in São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. The species may also occur in adjacent Argentina and/or Paraguay.[5]
In its native habitat it is a threatened species.[citation needed]