Diesel tree Facts
Diesel tree Facts
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| Interesting Diesel tree Facts: |
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| Diesel tree can reach 20 to 49 feet in height and 3 to 13 feet in diameter (trunk). It has dark brown, rough and scaly bark. |
| Diesel tree produces pinnate leaves composed of 2 to 4 pairs of elliptical or ovate leaflets. Leaves are alternately arranged on the branches. Young leaves are reddish colored. They change color into green when they reach maturity. Leaves are covered with hairs on the bottom side. |
| Diesel tree produces numerous small white flowers arranged in long multi-branched clusters (panicles). Flowers contain both types of reproductive organs (perfect flowers). |
| Diesel tree blooms from June to October. Flowers attract stingless bees and honey bees, which are responsible for the pollination of this plant. |
| Fruit of diesel tree is egg-shaped pod filled with single, large, black seed. Pod can be yellowish, reddish, brownish or blackish colored. Fruit ripens from July to October. |
| Birds, rodents and collared peccary (pig-like mammal) play important role in dispersal of seed in the wild. |
| Wood of diesel tree is porous and light weight. It consists of numerous capillaries filled with oily resin, better known as oleoresin, composed of terpene hydrocarbons. |
| People create deep incisions in the trunk to "release" oleoresin from the inner part of the wood. Buckets are used to collect oleoresin which leaks from the "wounds". |
| Diesel tree produces around 40 liters of oleoresin per year. Oleoresin can be used as biodiesel (type of eco-friendly fuel, which has less polluting effect on the atmosphere), hence the name "diesel" tree. |
| Besides as biofuel, oleoresin of diesel tree can be used for the manufacture of paints, lacquers and varnishes. |
| Wood of diesel tree can be used as a source of firewood. It also has application in carpentry. |
| Indigenous people in South America used oleoresin of diesel tree in treatment of wounds, inflammation, sores on the skin, psoriasis, insect bites and pain. Oleoresin is still frequently used in treatment of sore throat (usually mixed with honey) in some parts of South America. |
| Oleoresin of diesel tree can be purchased in the form of gel capsules in pharmacies throughout Brazil. These capsules are used in treatment of bronchitis, sinusitis, inflammation of urinary tract, cancer and stomach ulcers. |
| Oleoresin of diesel tree is also used in the cosmetic industry for the preparation of perfumes, soaps, baths and lotions. |
| Diesel tree is perennial plant that can survive up to 400 years in the wild. |
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