Gum Tree, Gumbo Limbo
Bursera simaruba
Family: Burseraceae
What it is like
Native to tropical America, Gum Tree, Bursera simaruba, is a drought-tolerant, deciduous tree that reaches up to 25 m tall when fully matured. It has a single trunk that is smooth and red. The leaves are bright green and the flowers are creamy white. The fruits are edible succulent red berries. Medicinally, gum tree promotes sweating, urination, bowel movement, and healing of wounds. It is used as treatment for dropsy, dysentery and yellow fever. Gum tree leaves are tea substitute. The bark produces American elemi, otherwise known as cachibok or gomart, a balsam resin used in varnishes and as gum arabic substitute. It has many other uses such as glue, canoe paint, incense, and insect repellent. The wood is soft and light, ideal as veneer, plywood, rustic furniture, match sticks and toothpicks, cabinets, etc. When dried, it is used as firewood or charcoal.
Bursera simaruba is a deciduous Tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 16 m (52ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10 and is frost tender. The flowers are pollinated by Insects, especially bees. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 20
Where it is found
Generally found in dry forests, but sometimes in wetter forests; common in advanced secondary growth. In the wetter areas of its range it is more likely to be found growing on slopes where the soil is shallow and dries quickly.
S. America - Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana; north through the Caribbean to Florida; C. America - Panama to Guatemala.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, South America, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Venezuela, West Indies.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Edible portion: Leaves - tea. The leaves are used as a tea substitute.
Gum: can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The resin obtained from the bark is diaphoretic, diuretic, purgative and vulnerary. It is used in the treatment of dropsy, dysentery and yellow fever. It is an effective vulnerary.
Diaphoretic: Induces perspiration.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.
Vulnerary: Promotes the healing of wounds.
Other
Rating: 4
Other uses rating: High (4/5). Seaside, Street tree, Massed as an accent, Xerophytic. Agroforestry Uses: Trees are used as living fence to delimit pastures, using stakes 1 - 3 metres long, 10 - 15cm thick, and spaced 3 metres or more apart. Other Uses The bark yields a balsam resin known as American elemi, cachibok or gomart. It is used in varnishes and as a substitute for gum arabic (from Acacia spp.). It is painted on canoes to preserve the wood from insects etc. It is also used as a glue for mending broken china and glass. Used by the Maya as an incense since ancient times, it is still concentrated, dried and used in modern South America as incense in churches. The aromatic resin is a natural insect repellent, and no pests or diseases are reported for this species. The heartwood is white, yellowish, or light brown; it is not differentiated from the sapwood. Both the heartwood and sapwood are often discoloured to a gray by sap-staining fungi. The texture is fine to medium; the grain fairly straight; lustre is moderate and there is no distinctive taste or odour. The wood is soft, light in weight, firm, tough, not very durable in contact with the soil. It works easily with all types of tools and machines; saws cleanly; planes to a smooth finish; drills cleanly with some tearing at the exit side; and turns readily on the lathe. The wood takes all stains and polishes well and holds nails firmly without splitting. It is used for veneer, as plywood for interior use, in rustic furniture, for rough boxes and crates, as handles for tools, as soles for sandals, for match sticks and toothpicks, to build cabinets, to make decorative articles. When thoroughly dry, the wood is used as firewood or charcoal. This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds
Adhesive: Glues.
Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.
Charcoal: Used for fuel, drawing, deodorant, filter, fertilizer etc.
Fencing: Plants that can be used for fencing.
Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.
Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.
Gum: Gums have a wide range of uses, especially as stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, adhesives etc.
Incense: Aromatic plants that can be burnt to impart a pleasant smell, repel insects and disinfect closed areas.
Preservative: For food, or for treating wood, ropes etc.
Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.
Resin: Used in perfumery, medicines, paints, soap making etc. This also includes turpentine, which is extracted from many resins and used as a preservative, water proofer etc,
Varnish: Plants that can be used as a varnish without any special treatment. Does not include varnishes made from oils etc.
Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.
Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.
Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels
Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.
Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.
Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels
Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
Coppice: A traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down.
How it is grown
A plant of the tropical regions of Central America, where it is found growing at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It prefers areas where the mean annual temperature is in the range 18 - 25°c, and the mean annual rainfall is 800 - 3,000mm. Prefers a sunny position and a well-drained soil. Grows on a range of soils, including Lithosols, Vertisols and Oxisols. Succeeds in dry soils. Established plants are drought resistant. Plants can be pruned back very hard and will resprout successfully. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required.
Propagating it: Seed. Forty per cent germination occurs within 20 days. Seed storage behaviour is orthodox. Seeds remain viable for 10 months. Cuttings root easily. Even large branches 1 - 3 metres long will produce roots.
Best place to grow:
Habit: Tree
Hardiness: 10-12
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Gum Tree, Bursera simaruba. Other Names: Tourist Tree, Copperwood, chaca, and Turpentine tree, Torchwood, Dysentery Bark, Incense tree, West Indian birch, Indio pelado, Jinote, Carana, Indio desnudo.
Synonyms
Bursera gummifera L. Bursera ovalifolia (Schldl.) Engl. Elaphrium ovalifolium Schltdl. Elaphrium sim