También se le conoce como Nacedero, Quiebrabarrigo o Water Stick. Trichantera gigantea es una especie arbórea perteneciente a la familia Acanthaceae. Se distribuye entre el rango altitudinal comprendido entre los 0 y los 2000 msnm en los departamentos de Antioquia, Bolívar, Boyacá, Caldas, Caquetá, Cauca, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Huila, Meta, Nariño, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindío, Risaralda, Santander, Tolima y Valle (UNAL, 2022).
T. gigantea can reach heights of up to 15 m. Its foliage is dark green, simple leaves, quite marked venation, slightly awned branches, bell-shaped flowers of dark red or red wine. The fruits are elongated and contain an average of 2 round seeds of up to 5 mm in diameter (Naturalista, 2022).
The species has a rapid growth rate and is quite long-lived, it is also known as a spring, as it is especially useful for the protection of water sources and water bodies, not to mention that it improves the properties of eroded soils.
( Black-backed Grosbeak Pheucticus aureoventris)
Trichantera gigantea is very attractive to avifauna, species such as the Black-backed Grosbeak ( Pheucticus aureoventris ), the Black-and-white Seedeater ( Sporophila luctuosa ) or the White-winged Goldfinch ( Spinus psaltria ) are seen quite frequently visiting this tree in search of food and shelter. time fulfilling their work as dispersers (Castillo et al., 2017).
( Black-white seedeater, Sporophila luctuosa)
( Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria)