Iron wood tree – Here in Tambopata we protect the big trees of the Amazon
21 November 2025 (219 visits)The shihuahuaco tree (Dipteryx mirantha), known in English as “iron wood”, can live for more than a thousand years. The shihuahuaco is one of the Amazon rainforest’s largest trees, capable of growing up to 60 meters in height (almost 200 feet). Its English name is derived from the remarkable hardness of its wood, which is often described as being as hard as steel.
The shihuahuaco is an imposing tree with reddish bark. At its base, the shihuahuaco anchors itself to the forest floor and supports its extraordinary height with huge, splaying buttresses, like those devised by the architects of Europe’s High Gothic cathedrals, back when some of the individuals of this species we can see today during jungle trips on our forest trails were already more than 200 years old!
The Ese Ejja, whose name means “true people” in their language, tell of how, after the first humans descended from the heavens, there grew the first tree, and that when the birds saw the mighty shihuahuaco, they nested in its branches in such great numbers that the tree cried out in pain, causing the birds to scatter to every corner of the Earth.
Today, across large swathes of the Amazon rainforest in Peru, the exploitation and destruction of the shihuahuaco’s habitat continues apace, despite attempts by the Peruvian state to protect the species from the pressures exerted by the international timber trade. So bleak is the outlook for this ancient species, that some scientists estimate that, if stricter measures are not enforced to protect it, the shihuahuaco could become extinct within the next ten years.
Of course, the shihuahuaco is not the only victim of the demand for lumber. Commercial pressures have also brought other iconic Amazon trees to the brink of extinction. Species like shihuahuaco, cedar and mahogany are particularly sought after and extracted in large numbers by both legal and illegal loggers across the rainforests of Peru because their wood is of an especially high quality and extremely durable.
The greatest pressure on these magnificent trees is exerted in the Peruvian regions of Loreto, Ucayali and Madre de Dios, and the safe refuge provided by our Tambopata Ecolodge Private Conservation Area, and by our vast neighbor, Tambopata National Reserve (where we operate our guided Amazon jungle tours), is of crucial importance.
For species such as macaws, harpy eagles, bats and spider monkeys, the shihuahuaco is a source of nourishment and shelter, and here at Tambopata Ecolodge we take seriously our role as guardians of these ancient giants that have formed an essential component of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem for as long as it has existed in its current form.
