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Brosimum is a genus of tropical American trees in the fig and mulberry family, grown mainly for timber, wood and the edible breadnut. The commonly grown members are the breadnut (B. alicastrum), snakewood (B. guianense) and scarlet-wood trees (B. rubescens), which are cultivated as shade or timber trees rather than houseplants.
Brosimum is a genus of plants in the family Moraceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas.
The breadnut (B. alicastrum) was used by the Maya civilisation for its edible nut. The dense vividly coloured scarlet wood of B. rubescens is used for decorative woodworking. B. guianense, or snakewood, has a mottled snake-skin pattern, and is among the densest woods, with a very high stiffness; it was the wood of choice for making of bows for musical instruments of the violin family until the late 18th century, when it was replaced by the more easily worked brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata). Plants of this genus are otherwise used for timber, building materials, and in a cultural context.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Brosimum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
