Stemmadenia donnell-smithii is a subcanopy neotropical tree that occurs in a wide variety of forest and successional habitats. Often regarded as a species of highly disturbed habitats, we tested the hypothesis that regeneration in old-growth forest is consistent with that of a late-pioneer tree, with the number of established seedlings (stature <50 cm) near fruiting trees directly proportional to canopy openness (rs = 0.82, P < 0.01). Scarce larger juveniles (stature >50 cm in forest conditions) occurred only under broken canopies.