REFORESTATION WITH FUSTIC (Chlorophora Tinctoria)
Conserving the Treasure of Nature

Have you thought about planting trees as an investment for you, your children and future generations? Have you thought that trees can be used to protect nature, to generate oxygen, to rescue species in extinction and to avoid erosion? Have you considered trees as a wood and colorants source? Do you know that by planting trees you assure a rent for the future? There are a lot of other reasons to start planting trees…the next is a description of Fustic, a valuable native specie of the Ecuadorian coast.

FACTS

Fustic is a hard wood tree with excellent qualities. Its use is, at the moment, conditioned, because it doesn’t exist in abundance and it doesn’t regenerate easily.

If we compare Fustic wood with Teak wood, we can find out that Fustic is better; it weights 42% more than Teak, it is 138% harder and 47% stronger than Teak and moreover it is totally resistant to termites. That is why it is consider one of the best woods in the international market

In addition to its use as wood, Fustic has other important uses:

Fustic is used as a natural colorant for wood, cotton, and textiles in Europe and North America.

It has a shinny yellow colour that in combination with other products like henna and indigo produces different alternatives of natural colorants. Fustic is considered as one of the most valuable yellow colorants.

Fustic has also curative properties: it is used to heal colds and tooth pain, it has diuretic effects.

There are some studies to obtain Morina from it, which will help to prevent heart diseases. (Biochem Pharmacol 47: 1099-103, 1994)

Even tough Fustic has many benefits; its uses have been limited to the lumber sector

 ECONOMICAL BENEFITS

Because there are no reforestation projects, this specimen is in danger of extinction.

It is recommended to integrate the tree with understory crops.  Fustic can provide shade for papaya, tea, yuca, chili, marjoram, plantain, cocoa, guaba, tamarinde, pineapple, and others. A distance of 8X8 square meters should be used (156 trees/ha). These understory crops help to cover costs for pruning and they generate an income during the growth period of the trees. Planting Fustic is a totally profitable investment for the future and if sustainable ways of management the crop are used, there will be a lot of income sources. 

The plantation maintenance cost is higher during the first 3 years, when a frequent cleaning of the weed is important. The following years the weeding must be done once or twice a year, while pruning 3 times a year, depending on the branches length.

Due to its plantation limitations, the tree value raises daily. Nowadays, the cubic meter in the local market is commercialized between $300 and $500 USD. Within 20 years, the value of each cubic meter will exceed the $1,000.00 USD. Having a yield with 156 trees per hectare, a person can harvest 156 m3 in 20 years or $156.000.00 USD per hectare.

La Perla, a native forest preservation farm 48 Km from the Santo Domingo-Esmeraldas road, keeps very old and beautiful fustic samples.

TECHNICAL DATA 

Scientific name: Chlorophora tinctoria

Common name: Fustic, Mora Amarilla, Sota, Fustete, Palo Amarillo or Madera de Cuba

Hardness rank: 1 A

Altitude: 20-30 metres

Diameter: up to 40 inches

Description: Straight and cylindrical trunk with extended superficial roots of approximately 1 m of diameter, with red yellowish coloured spots, white-greenish flowers and soft green fruits. 

Distribution: The Fustic is distributed among America, from Mexico through Central America to Brazil. It grows in tropical semi-arid and semi-humid zones. It grows in altitudes of 0 to 500 metres above sea level. In Ecuador, we can find Fustic in the province of Los Ríos and in the region from Quevedo to Esmeraldas. 

BIOLCOM AND FUSTIC

Biolcom has developed a project of reforestation with Fustic in the Ecuadorian coast, in the province of Los Ríos (Quevedo area). This is a good option for local people’s economy, whose actual income comes just from native wood and traditional products. It is also an excellent way to start to protect the tropical forest. 

Biolcom produces and sells Fustic plants to communities and people who are interested in starting with this great plantation. 

We should remember that, by protecting Fustic trees we contribute to the environment, we are helping to preserve the tropical forest and its local and global ecological functions that benefit not only the present population but future generations