Coulteria platyloba aka Coulteria Platyloba

Coulteria platyloba is a shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It also goes by the name palo Colorado. Older names include Caesalpinia platyloba and Brasilettia platyloba. Its native range runs from Mexico into Central America. Useful Tropical Plants names Guatemala and Costa Rica within that range. Kew places it in the seasonally dry tropics. In Mexico, it grows on wooded slopes in dry regions. It also occurs in thorn forest, though less often.

This woody plant grows upright and has an open crown. Useful Tropical Plants lists a height of about 13 feet [4 metres]. Its fuller account gives a range of 6–20 feet [1.8–6 metres]. These figures describe the species, rather than a stated garden range. The plant loses its leaves during the dry season. First, the leaves change to a deep red. They then fall, leaving the branches bare. Fresh leaves appear when the rains return. In some places, the tree stays leafless for eight months.

The seasonal leaf change is a clear feature of its form. The supplied account gives no details of leaf shape or bark. It names bees as pollinators but does not describe the flowers. Nor does it give a bloom season or describe the fruit. Seed is the listed means of propagation. The source treats this as a wild plant. Its habitat shows a link with dry tropical conditions. However, the evidence gives no tested garden watering needs or frost limits.

People gather the seeds from wild plants for food. One use starts with roasting and grinding them. The powder goes into atole, a hot drink based on corn. Dried seeds also yield flour for making tortillas. These records concern prepared seeds, not other parts of the plant. Useful Tropical Plants reports no known hazards and no medicinal uses. That does not establish safety for pets or for every preparation.

The heartwood yields a red dye for local use. One historical account links this pigment to red hand marks on Maya buildings. The wood itself is red, dense, hard, and strong. Its close grain and strength support its use in traditional houses. Builders use it for corner posts and horizontal or cross poles. The evidence records these material uses but gives no specific landscape uses. It also provides no account of pests or diseases.