Cuipo

A giant with a column-like trunk and a flat crown – the cuipo rises above the forest canopy around the Panama Canal.

A tree of the mallow family (formerly placed in the bombax family) growing 40–50 m tall, with a straight, often slightly barrel-shaped trunk with smooth grey or reddish bark, and a flat, umbrella-shaped crown. In the dry season it sheds its leaves and flowers, later producing fruits with five broad, reddish wings that are dispersed by the wind. Its wood is exceptionally light and soft, and the trunk stores water. Macaws nest in the hollows of old trees.

Significance in the country

The silhouettes of cuipo trees rising above the forest are a characteristic sight in Soberanía and Chagres national parks by the Canal and in Darién. The tree is a symbol of the isthmus’s untouched tropical forests and a draw for birdwatchers.

Where it grows

Humid lowland forests along the Panama Canal (Panamá and Colón provinces, including Soberanía National Park) and the forests of Darién and the Emberá-Wounaan comarca.

More: Wikipedia (en)