guama
9.9
A tropical tree with groups of white flowers often used to shade coffee plants
- noun
- US
:
guama
- The guama tree provides excellent shade for coffee plantations due to its broad canopy.
Examples
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In Puerto Rico, the guama is prized for its beautiful clusters of white flowers in the spring.
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There is a bean too, the guama, that, when you open it, has little things like cotton, and inside of each is the seed.
Academic text (2007) -
Farmers often plant guama trees alongside their crops to protect them from the harsh sun.
Synonyms
9.9
A tropical tree with white flowers often planted to give shade for coffee
is similar but has clusters of white flowers rather than spikes
Surface Forms
Etymology
Guama comes from a native Caribbean name that Spanish speakers kept for this tree, so the word travelled with the plant into local speech. That's why Guama today simply means the tropical shade tree with clusters of white flowers often planted over coffee plantations.
