Cedrela fissilis is a large lowland tree of Central and South America, valued for timber and now endangered from overharvesting. It is grown as a timber or shade tree in warm, seasonally dry tropical areas rather than as a houseplant.
Family
Meliaceae (Meli family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply during dry spells while young; established trees tolerate seasonal drought.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile soil, loam to clay-loam.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect from frost.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Trinidad to C. & S. Trop. America
Climate
seasonally dry tropical
About
Cedrela fissilis is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to Central and South America, where it is distributed from Costa Rica to Argentina. Its common names include Argentine cedar, cedro batata, cedro blanco, "Acaju-catinga" (its Global Trees entry) and cedro colorado.
Once a common lowland forest tree, this species has been overexploited for timber and is now considered to be endangered. A few populations are stable, but many have been reduced, fragmented, and extirpated. The wood is often sold in batches with Cuban cedar (Cedrela odorata).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cedrela fissilis 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.