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Black poisonwood

Metopium brownei

Black poisonwood
Photo: Descourtilz, J. Theodore.; Descourtilz, M. E.; Pichard., Public domain

Black poisonwood is a tropical tree in the cashew family, native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and valued for its hard timber. It is grown mainly as a shade or timber tree in warm, frost-free climates and is best handled with care because its bark and sap contain urushiol.

Family
Anacardiaceae (Cashew family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly while young, then tolerate dry spells once established.
Soil
Well-drained soil, tolerant of limestone and poor soils.
Temperature
Frost-free tropical conditions; protect below 10 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Bark, sap and leaves contain urushiol, which can cause contact dermatitis on skin; fresh cut wood should be handled carefully.
Native range
S. Mexico to Honduras, Caribbean
Climate
wet tropical

About

Metopium brownei (also known as chechem, chechen, or black poisonwood) is a species of plant in the family Anacardiaceae.

Where it grows

It is found in Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Cuba, Jamaica, northern Guatemala, Belize, and from the Yucatán to Veracruz in Mexico.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Metopium brownei 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.

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