Caesalpinia coriaria
The divi-divi tree ( Caesalpinia coriaria ) is a species of the subfamily of carob plants ( Caesalpinioideae ). It is mainly to be found on the island of Aruba ( Southern Caribbean ).
Description
Caesalpinia coriaria grows as a large shrub or small tree. The up to 15 cm long leaves are pinnate or in pairs. The many leaflets are relatively short with only 6-7 mm in length.
The lateral or terminal, dense, paniculate inflorescences are up to 5 cm long. The five petals are yellow. The stamens are hairy in the lower half. The tortuous legume is up to 7.5 cm long and up to 1.2 cm wide. The flowering period extends from September to October.
Ingredients
The pods of the divi-divi tree contain tannins, vegetable tannins. These were formerly brought to tanneries in the Netherlands.
System
This species was in 1763 under the name Poinciana coriaria of Nicholas Joseph von Jacquin in Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum Historia ... 123-124, pl. 175, f 36 first described. The valid name Caesalpinia coriaria was published in 1799 by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in Species Plantarum, 4th Edition, 2, (1 ), pp. 532.
Trivia
The divi-divi tree is the symbol of Aruba, as the winner of the Aruba Film Festival receives a small replica of a divi-divi tree of precious metal. The Divi Divi Air from the Netherlands Antilles has been named after this tree.