Dipteryx micrantha  Harms – Coin plant  – Fabaceae

Dipteryx odorata  (Aubl.) Willd. – Tonka bean  - Fabaceae

The Boras people of Peru use the large trunks of Dipteryx micrantha for drums.  They call the tree charapilla or shihuahuaco.  Its fruit is an oval, one-seeded legume which is edible when cooked.⁴

Dancers in many Peruvian tribes wear waist belts of the seed’s shells.  Shells of Dipteryx clicking together add a musical dimension to the sounds of drum beats and the dancer’s stomping feet.

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