A West Indian tree (Lonchocarpus violaceus) with purple flowers, or its wood used in traditional applications.
From Spanish guapena, possibly derived from indigenous Caribbean or Mesoamerican languages; the exact etymology is uncertain but follows the pattern of Spanish adoption of indigenous plant names.
Many tropical tree names in Spanish came straight from the mouths of indigenous peoples—guapena is a linguistic fossil from pre-Columbian Caribbean cultures!
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