Mora (plant)
Mora is a genus of large trees in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the legume family Fabaceae. There are six species, all native to lowland rainforests in northern South America, southern Central America, the southern Caribbean islands, and Hispaniola.
Species
Six species are accepted by the Plants of the World Online database:- Mora abbottii Britton & Rose – cola tree, coi, col
- Mora ekmanii Britton & Rose –
- Mora excelsa Benth. – nato, nato rojo, mora
- Mora gonggrijpii Sandwith – Moraboekea
- Mora oleifera Ducke –
- Mora paraensis Ducke – pracuuba
Description
These are large, heavily buttressed rainforest trees up to in height, to in the case of Mora excelsa. The genus is noted for the exceptional size of its beans, which are among the largest known dicot seeds, in the instance of Mora oleifera being up to long, in breadth and thick, and a weight of up to. These very large beans develop out of tiny flowers with a pistil only 1 mm wide. The species Mora excelsa is one of the few rainforest trees to grow in pure stands.Uses
The beans of Mora spp. are edible if boiled, and are also the source of a red dyestuff.Some of the species are important for timber production. Mora excelsa and Mora gonggrijpii are also known as nato, and are commonly used in guitar body and neck construction.