Amazon Herb Company

Pata de vaca is a small tree that grows 5-9 m tall. Its leaves are 7-10 cm long and shaped like a cow's hoof, which is distinctive to the Bauhinia genus. Its Brazilian name, pata de vaca, translates to cow's foot. It produces large, drooping white flowers and a brown seed pod resembling that of mimosa. It can be found in the rainforests and tropical parts of Peru and Brazil, as well as in tropical zones of Asia, eastern Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina.

Espinheira santa is a small, shrubby evergreen tree growing to 5 m in height with leaves and berries that resemble holly. It is native to many parts of South America and southern Brazil and it is even found in city landscapes for its attractive, holly-like appearance. With over 200 species of Maytenus distributed in temperate and tropical regions throughout South America and the West Indies, there are many Maytenus species that are indigenous to the Amazon region which have been used medicinally by indigenous tribes.

Jatobá is a huge canopy tree, growing to 30 m in height, and is indigenous to the Amazon rainforest and parts of tropical Central America. It produces bright green leaves in matched pairs, white, fragrant flowers that are pollinated by bats, and an oblong, brown, pod-like fruit with large seeds inside. The fruit is considered edible although hardly tasty; one of its common names, "stinking toe," is used to describe the smell and taste of the fruit! In the Peruvian Amazon the tree is called azucar huayo and, in Brazil, jatobá. The Hymenaea genus comprises two dozen species of tall trees distributed in tropical parts of South America, Mexico, and Cuba.