Trema micranthum aka Capulin

Trema micranthum is one of the fastest-growing neotropical pioneer trees: Wikipedia cites specimens reaching 14 m (46 ft) in two years from seed, and the Useful Tropical Plants database notes seedlings clearing more than 3 m in their first two years. Mature size depends heavily on conditions, with floras of North America recording 2 to 5.5 (occasionally 10) m, while tropical accounts cite 5 to 15 m with a dense, wide crown and a bole up to 40 cm in diameter.

Trema micranthum is native across a vast neotropical range. POWO maps it through southern Florida, every region of Mexico, all of Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama), the Greater and Lesser Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Leeward and Windward Islands), and most of tropical South America from Colombia and Venezuela south through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and into northeastern Argentina. It is introduced in the Galápagos and Myanmar.

Trema micranthum tolerates a wide range of moisture conditions but dislikes waterlogged ground. The Useful Tropical Plants database notes it "succeeds in a wide range of soils and conditions, so long as they are not too wet." In its native range it grows in seasonally dry tropical environments, suggesting good drought tolerance once established.

The species is unfussy about soil. Useful Tropical Plants records that it succeeds across a wide range of substrates provided they are not waterlogged, and SEINet notes its frequent occurrence on calcareous ground in Florida. It colonises disturbed roadsides, burned ground, and hammocks, indicating tolerance of poor and rocky soils.

Flowers are small and greenish-white, with calyces of the same colour, borne in axillary clusters. In its core tropical range the tree flowers and fruits virtually year-round; herbarium records concentrate flowering between March and November.

In its native range, Trema micranthum thrives in hammocks, prairies, disturbed roadsides, burned-over land and calcareous ground at elevations from 0 to 100 m.

Propagation is by seed. Useful Tropical Plants reports germination in four to six months, with seed remaining viable in storage for years.

Flowers are pollinated by bees according to the Useful Tropical Plants database.

Trema micranthum is not regarded as an edible plant. The Useful Tropical Plants database gives it an edibility rating of 0/5 with "None known" for edible parts, although POWO records general food-use entries (likely as animal forage rather than human food).

Folk medicinal use is limited: Useful Tropical Plants gives a 2/5 rating, citing the use of sap to treat sore eyes. POWO lists the species among plants with documented medicinal use. Recent claims about significant cannabidiol content in the leaves have not been independently replicated and are not widely accepted.

The species is most valued for fibre, fuel and traditional crafts. The bark yields a strong, tough fibre used for cordage and binding. The light wood is used for boards, rafters, match sticks, tea chests, fuel, and high-quality charcoal. In San Pablito, Mexico, the Otomí people use bark strips to make handmade amate paper, replacing the over-harvested Ficus aurea. The tree is also planted as a fast pioneer for woodland restoration and agroforestry.