Nature Field Guide
Guapinol
- Spanish name
- Guapinol
- Scientific name
- Hymenaea courbaril
What Do Pico & Tati Think?
Pico: “Paired leaflets and hard brown pods identify a forest tree with an important wildlife role.”
Tati: “Let’s notice the leaves, flowers and habitat without disturbing the plant.”
Species overview
About the Guapinol
Each guapinol leaf is divided into two leathery leaflets. Its thick brown seed pods look very different from the thin green pods of many other bean-family plants. Check both the leaf and the fruit before naming a tree.
Guapinol occurs in Pacific lowlands and the western Central Valley. Its flowers and fruits are used by wildlife, showing how a tree can support animals at more than one stage of its life cycle. This is an observation card, not a guide to eating its fruit.
Identification
Key Features of the Guapinol
Two leaflets in each compound leaf
Thick brown woody pods
Large spreading forest-tree form
Habitat & range
Pacific lowlands and western Central Valley; Guanacaste dry forest is one documented setting.
Local observations
Native to Costa Rica. Local presence and abundance depend on suitable habitat and growing conditions.
When to observe
Leaves and growth form can be observed whenever the plant is accessible. Flowering and fruiting vary with location, weather and the individual plant; ask a local guide about current conditions.
Conservation & care
Explore with an adult on permitted paths. Observe and photograph without picking leaves, flowers or fruits. Do not taste plants or let pets chew them. Avoid climbing trees and disturbing roots, seedlings or visiting wildlife.
Threats & pressures
Protect suitable habitat, mature trees and natural regeneration. Avoid trampling, unauthorized clearing and collection.
Observation activity
Compare a two-leaflet guapinol leaf with a five-leaflet roble de sabana leaf using photographs.
Explore by location
Central Pacific · Central Valley · Guanacaste · Puntarenas & the Gulf Islands · South Pacific · Guanacaste · Heredia · Puntarenas · San José