Bursera simaruba tree (Tourist tree, Gumbo-limbo, Copperwood or Chaca) in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico

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Bursera simaruba, commonly known as Gumbo-limbo, Copperwood, and Chaca, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas from the southeasternmost United States (southern Florida) south through Mexico and the Caribbean to Brazil and Venezuela. Bursera simaruba is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 30 m tall, with a diameter of one meter or less at meters above ground. The bark is shiny dark red. The resin is used as a treatment for gout, while the leaves are brewed into a medicinal tea. Gumbo-limbo bark is also considered an antidote to Metopium toxiferum, also known as chechen tree, which often grows in the same habitat and can cause extreme rashes just as the related poison ivy.

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Size: 2848px × 4287px
Location: Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
Photo credit: © Guillermo Lopez Barrera / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: almácigo, bark, bursera, chaca, chaka, copperwood, desnudo, gumbo-limbo, indio, jiñocuabo, mulato, palo, red, simaruba, tourist, tree