The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Brya ebenus
Also called Jamaican Raintree, Jamaican Ebony, West Indian Ebony, Cocoswood, Ebony Cocuwood, Grenadilla
Brya ebenus is a small, drought-resistant tree from Cuba, grown as an ornamental and bonsai subject for its bright yellow pea-like flowers that bloom soon after rain. It needs full sun and thrives in poor, well-drained soil.
Brya ebenus, the Jamaican raintree, espino de sabana, granadillo, cocus wood, cocuswood, and coccuswood, is a species of plant in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to Cuba, and it has been introduced to Jamaica. Horticulturally it is known as the Jamaica(n) rain tree.
Brya ebenus is cultivated as an ornamental, for bonsai trees, and for its valuable wood. Cocus wood is a very dense tropical hardwood with excellent musical tone quality, and was used for making flutes in England and France especially during the 19th century. It is still occasionally used for wooden musical instruments such as bagpipes, clarinets, oboes, and piccolos.
The branches of Brya ebenus were used as whips for slaves.
Brya ebenus grows in scrublands (tropical terrestrial biome), needs full sunlight and flowers sporadically throughout the year. As its common name suggests, the Jamaican rain tree is well known to come into bloom almost immediately after a rain event. This is may be an adaptation to produce seeds quickly when unpredictable rains occur. The flowers attract insect visitors such as bees. As in many Faboideae, the Jamaican rain tree has bacterial nodules in its roots, which fix atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form, allowing growth in poor soils.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Brya ebenus 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
