Stats

Lifespan: Centuries
Size: Huge
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: South America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Armor
Status: Vulnerable

About

One of the tallest trees in the Amazon rainforest, reaching 50 metres, with a massive straight trunk topped by a canopy of large leathery leaves. Its heavy woody fruits — each a coconut-sized capsule containing 10–25 seeds — are gathered by harvesters who wait for them to fall, as the 5 kg pods can be lethal projectiles.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Lecythidaceae
Genus: Bertholletia
Species: Bertholletia excelsa