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Peltogyne mexicana is a tree in the pea family, native to seasonally dry tropical forest in Guerrero, Mexico. It is prized for its purple heartwood, and it is grown mainly as a timber or landscape tree rather than a houseplant.
Peltogyne mexicana is a species of tree that belongs to the family Fabaceae. Members of the genus Peltogyne are commonly known in different regions as purpleheart, morao, nazareno, violeta, pau roxo, or palo morado. The genus Peltogyne is neotropical and is made up of 23 species. Peltogyne mexicana occurs in Guerrero, Mexico, and is one of the northernmost species in the genus.
Many of the vernacular names derive from the characteristic of the color of the wood, which is unusually purple in the center. The coloration darkens and intensifies with exposure to air and ultraviolet (UV) light; if it is put in water for a few hours, the purple color changes to intense black. Peltogyne mexicana is considered a precious wood.
This tree was reported as a new botanical species by Maximino Martínez in 1960.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Peltogyne mexicana 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.
