Eperua falcata

Eperua falcata, the wallaba, is a large evergreen tree of the Fabaceae (subfamily Detarioideae) native to the Guiana Shield and northern Amazonia, where it can dominate large stands on poor sandy soils. It reaches 20-40 m, with a straight bole and characteristic large, pinnately compound leaves bearing a few pairs of leathery, asymmetric, falcate (sickle-shaped) leaflets. The flowers are showy, with conspicuous reddish to pink petals, borne in long pendulous racemes that attract bats and other pollinators. The fruit is a large, flattened, woody pod that splits explosively to fling its few big seeds. The trunk exudes a reddish resin or gum known as wallaba gum. Valued for its exceptionally durable, decay-resistant heartwood, it is an important local timber, and it grows gregariously in lowland rainforest, often forming wallaba forest on white-sand substrates.