Mountain Almond / Tonka Bean Tree

One of the tallest trees in the Panamanian forest, reaching up to 55 meters. Its wood is so dense it doesn't float. It is the preferred nesting tree of the great green macaw.

Dipteryx panamensis, the mountain almond, is one of the most imposing emergent trees of Panamanian tropical forests. Its straight, cylindrical trunk, up to 1.5 meters in diameter, rises up to 55 meters above the canopy. Its extremely dense, hard wood (it sinks in water) is highly valued in heavy construction. Its fruits are drupes containing an almond-like seed, from which its common name derives. It is a keystone species: the great green macaw (Ara ambiguus) depends almost exclusively on this tree for nesting. It produces coumarin, the aromatic compound of tonka beans.

Habitat

Lowland wet forests, especially on the Caribbean slope and Canal Watershed