The espavel is one of the giant trees of the American tropics, found from Guatemala to northern South America, and in Costa Rica, it can be found throughout the country, from sea level to approximately 1200 m in elevation. This tree mainly grows along riverbanks and often reaches spectacular sizes. It prefers deep soils with good drainage, although it can also grow in less ideal soils and tolerates flooding as long as it is not prolonged.
The espavel can reach heights of 40 to 45 m and develop a cylindrical trunk that can measure up to 2 m in diameter, with some cases recorded of trunks up to 3 m in diameter. This characteristic makes it very commercially valuable, as a single tree can provide numerous cubic meters of wood. The small flowers, which are whitish at first, consist of five unjoined petals and appear in large terminal panicles that stand out strikingly above the canopy.
The slightly fragrant flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, and monkeys, especially when they begin to form fruit. Interestingly, old flowers turn more reddish and increase their aroma, possibly as a strategy to attract more pollinators to the new flowers.