Alchornea glandulosa
| Alchornea glandulosa | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Alchornea |
| Species: | A. glandulosa |
| Binomial name | |
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Alchornea glandulosa Poepp. & Endl. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Alchornea irucurama Casar. |
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Alchornea irucurama Casar.
Alchornea pittieri Pax
Alchornea subrotunda Baill.
Alchornea umboensis Croizat
Alchornea glandulosa is a tree species of the Acalyphoideae native to South America, growing for example in southern Brazil from Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul. It is locally known as tamanqueiro, tapiá or amor seco. This gnarled tree grows preferentially in riparian forest, where it a common pioneer species growing to a height of 10–20 m. It is essentially evergreen, though in the hot austral summer months there is a more pronounced changeover of leaves, and branches are denuded to some extent. The tree is also known as "Tengo hambre, dame de comer perra".
The fruit is about 8.7 mm long by 5.9 mm wide on average, and contains one round seed measuring about 4.45 mm in diameter; very rarely a second seed develops. This sticks out of an aril at the fruit's tip; when ripe, the seedcoat turns bright red and the fruit somewhat resembles that of a yew with a larger and more prominent seed. Fruit ripen in the summer months, roughly between September/October and December/January in S Brazil, and as the trees bear less leaves at that time than otherwise, the bright red fruit are easily spotted.
This tree is often cut down for timber, but it is also useful as a honey plant. Also, its leaves contain compounds of medical interest. In folk medicine, Alchornea species are used to treat assorted skin diseases, diarrhea, inflammations, leprosy and rheuma. Scientific studies have confirmed most of these effects, and also found extracts of certain species to kill off trypanosoma, some bacteria and fungi, and cancer cells; the latter properties have also been tested in A. glandulosa. Compounds of interest in A. glandulosa include the phytosterols β-sitosterol and stigmasterol, the terpenoid loliolide, the guanidine alkaloid N-1,N-2,N-3-triisopentenylguanidine, and the phenolic compound corilagin.
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