Cinchona pubescens

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Cinchona pubescens
Cinchona.pubescens01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Cinchona
Species:
C. pubescens
Binomial name
Cinchona pubescens
Vahl, 1790
Cinchona pubescens seedling.jpg
Synonyms

See § Synonyms.

Cinchona pubescens, also known as red cinchona and quina (Kina) ((in Spanish)Cascarilla, cinchona; (in Portuguese)quina-do-amazonas, quineira), is native to Central and South America. It is known as a medicinal plant for its bark's high quinine content- and has similar uses to C. officinalis in the production of quinine, most famously used for treatment of malaria. [2]

Contents

Description

C. pubescens varies from small to large in size, growing to 10 metres (33 ft) in height. When cut, the bark tends to turn red. Leaves are elliptical to oblate and thin. The leaves have pubescent teeth that turn red when they are older, hence its nickname the red quinine tree. Its flowers form in large panicles. They are pink and fragrant, while in the Galapagos they are light pink. [3]

Synonyms

Taxonomic synonyms include: [4]

Ecology

C. pubescens has the widest distribution of all Cinchona species, with the native range spanning Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. [5] In Ecuador it is distributed within an altitude from 300–3,900 metres (980–12,800 ft). It also grows well in volcanic soil with high nutrient levels. [6]

C. pubescens is a resilient species that is able to recover from even extreme damage. If the tree is felled but the stump is left, it can grow back new stalks. [7] If the bark is removed and the xylem is exposed to the elements, the tree will grow the bark back. The tree can even grow back if roots that are left in the ground are larger than 2 cm in diameter. [8]

It reproduces rapidly and spreads its seeds via wind. It reaches maturity and begins seeding in 4 years. Growing at a rate of 1–2 m per year, it quickly reaches a tall height where it can shade out the rest of the native plants. Adult trees grow much slower than juveniles. [9]

Invasive species

It has become an invasive species where planted outside of its native range, especially on tropical climate islands such as the Galapagos, Hawaii, and Tahiti. [10] In the Galapagos it has become a dominant species in the formerly shrub dominated Miconia and Fern-Sedge zones [11] on Santa Cruz Island. [12] It has been subject to control in the Galapagos National Park [13] to reduce its impacts using a variety of methods. [14] However, controlling it over its total range on Santa Cruz island would cost US$1.65 million according to research done through the Charles Darwin Foundation. [15]

According to Jäger et al. 2007, the species richness on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands has declined by 33% in the Miconia Zone and 10% in the Fern-Sedge Zone since the introduction C. pubescens. [16] It is also invasive in Hawaii, on Maui and the Big Island [17] C. pubescens was first introduced to these to be cultivated for quinine harvesting. [18]

Control Strategies

There are currently two strategies for removal of C. pubescens. They include a physical method and a chemical method. The physical method involves manually felling adult trees and fully removing the stumps. Samplings must be pulled out of the soil. [19] The chemical method uses herbicides diluted in water and sprayed on hack marks on the bark. Buddenhagen et al. tried this at the Galapagos Island National Park using a mixture of picloram and metsulfuron. This technique has been recommended to be performed in Tahiti and Hawaii since it is an invasive there as well. [20]

Buddenhagen et al. 2004 analyzed data using six different herbicide methods from 1999 to 2002 with a different trial each year: picloram salt, triclopyr ester, triclopyr salt, glyphosate, diesel fuel, and picloram and metsulfuron. The herbicide was sprayed onto the trees where they were hacked with machetes. In the first trial, triclopyr ester could control C. pubescens with 77% chance of the trees dying. In the second trial, a picloram and metsulfuron solution was 100% successful in concentrations greater than 4% solution. In the third trial, picloram- metsulfuron solution of 10% concentrations or higher was successful in eradicating the tree. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinine</span> Medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis

Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cramps, quinine is not recommended for this purpose due to the risk of serious side effects. It can be taken by mouth or intravenously. Malaria resistance to quinine occurs in certain areas of the world. Quinine is also used as an ingredient in tonic water to impart a bitter taste.

<i>Cinchona</i> Genus of plants, source of quinine

Cinchona is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly naturalized in Central America, Jamaica, French Polynesia, Sulawesi, Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, and São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of tropical Africa, and others have been cultivated in India and Java, where they have formed hybrids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galápagos Islands</span> Ecuadorean archipelago and protected area

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the Equator 900 km (560 mi) west of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of slightly over 33,000 (2020). The province is divided into the cantons of San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela, the three most populated islands in the chain. The Galápagos are famous for their large number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. All of these islands are protected as part of Ecuador's Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve.

<i>Dendrocnide</i> Genus of plants in the family Urticaceae

Dendrocnide is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family Urticaceae. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly known as stinging trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Algernon Weddell</span>

Hugh Algernon Weddell was a physician and botanist, specialising in South American flora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hipólito Ruiz López</span> Spanish botanist (1754-1816)

Hipólito Ruiz López, or Hipólito Ruiz, was a Spanish botanist known for researching the floras of Peru and Chile during an expedition under Carlos III from 1777 to 1788. During the reign of Carlos III, three major botanical expeditions were sent to the New World; Ruiz and José Antonio Pavón Jiménez were the botanists for the first of these expeditions, to Peru and Chile.

<i>Scalesia affinis</i> Species of flowering plant

Scalesia affinis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galápagos mockingbird</span> Species of bird

The Galápagos mockingbird is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

<i>Pseuderanthemum</i> Genus of plants

Pseuderanthemum is a genus of plants in family Acanthaceae with a pantropical distribution.

Maoutia is a genus of shrubs or small trees in the nettle family (Urticaceae).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dialypetalantheae</span> Tribe of flowering plants

Dialypetalantheae, synonym Condamineeae, is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 305 species in 31 genera. Most genera are found in Central and Southern Tropical America, but a few occur in Southeast Asia.

Drymaria monticola is a herb restricted to Santa Cruz in the Galapagos, where it is commonly found in the highlands. There is one doubtful record on Santiago in 1991. The extent of occurrence (EOO) is 45 square kilometres (45,000,000 m2). It occurs from 480–870 metres (1,570–2,850 ft) above sea level.

Cora santacruzensis is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in the Galapagos, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Manuela Dal Forno, Frank Bungartz, and Alba Yánez-Ayabaca. The specific epithet santacruzensis refers to Santa Cruz Island, the type locality where the lichen was first documented scientifically. Here it was found at an abandoned farm behind El Puntudo, where it was growing on a shaded branch of an avocado tree. A paratype specimen was collected from a Cinchona tree. The lichen is one of two presumably endemic Cora species found on the Galapagos; the other is Cora glabrata.

Cora galapagoensis is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is Endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where it grows as an epiphyte on branches and trunks, usually in close association with other lichens and bryophytes. It was formally described as a new species in 2017 by Manuela Dal-Forno, Frank Bungartz, and Robert Lücking. It is a fairly common species in its range, and has been recorded from Isabela, Santa Cruz and Santiago islands. Preferred habitats include Miconia shrublands, secondary forests of Cinchona pubescens and Psidium guajava, and forests of Persea americana (avocado) and Scalesia pedunculata. The lichen can form colonies over 1 m (3.3 ft) broad with closely adjoining (imbricate) lobes

Acantholichen galapagoensis, commonly known as the Galapagos spiny gladiator lichen, is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Manuela Dal-Forno, Frank Bungartz, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected in Isla Santa Cruz at an elevation of 684 m (2,244 ft). Here in a dense forest of Cinchona pubescens it was found growing over Frullania liverworts. The specific epithet refers to its type locality.

References

  1. ↑ Condit, R. (2021). "Cinchona pubescens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T49839551A176094290. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T49839551A176094290.en . Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. ↑ (Kinyuy et al. 1993)
  3. ↑ Invasive species in Hawaii Archived 2007-06-14 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Cinchona pubescens Vahl". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  5. ↑ (Acosta-Solis 1945; Missouri Botanical Garden specimen database 2002) Its distribution is at well documented by the Missouri Botanic Garden's Nomenclatural Data Base w3TROPICOS Archived 2009-06-01 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "(Invasive Species Specialist Group". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  7. ↑ "(Invasive Species Specialist Group". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  8. ↑ "(Invasive Species Specialist Group". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  9. ↑ "(Invasive Species Specialist Group". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  10. ↑ "(Invasive Species Specialist Group". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  11. ↑ (sensu Wiggins and Porter 1971)
  12. ↑ Buddenhagen & Yánez 2005; Buddenhagen et al. 2004; Jäger 1999; Kastdalen 1982; Lawesson 1990; Macdonald et al. 1988; Mauchamp 1997; Tye 2000; (and see more references below)
  13. ↑ "Parque Nacional Galápagos". Archived from the original on 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  14. ↑ http://wssa.allenpress.com/pdfserv/i0890-037X-018-05-1194.pdf%5B%5D Buddenhagen et al. 2004
  15. ↑ http://www.darwinfoundation.org/en/ Archived 2018-11-30 at the Wayback Machine (Buddenhagen and Yanez 2005)
  16. ↑ (Jäger et al. 2007)
  17. ↑ Invasive species in Hawaii Archived 2007-06-14 at the Wayback Machine .
  18. ↑ (Macdonald et al. 1988)
  19. ↑ "(Invasive Species Specialist Group". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  20. ↑ "(Invasive Species Specialist Group; Budenhagen et al. 2004". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  21. ↑ (Buddenhagen et al. 2004)

Sources

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