| Eugenia dysenterica | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Eugenia |
| Species: | E. dysenterica |
| Binomial name | |
| Eugenia dysenterica DC. | |
| Synonyms | |
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Eugenia dysenterica is a tree from the family Myrtaceae (order Myrtales), native of the Cerrado, the central savannah region of Brazil. It is locally known by the Portuguese names cagaita or cagaiteira. [1] [2]
The tree occurs mainly in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, mostly in areas with mean temperature 21–25 °C (70–77 °F) and altitudes of 380–1,100 metres (1,250–3,610 ft).
The adult tree is from 4 to 10 m (13 to 33 ft) tall, with a rounded canopy. The trunk can be 20 to 40 centimetres (8 to 16 in) diameter, with a thick (1–2 cm or 0.39–0.79 in) and irregular corky bark.
The flowers are white, 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) wide. They occur either alone or in threes, and open between August and September, undergoing both self- and cross-pollination. The fruits (up to 1500 per tree) ripen mostly over a two-month period, between September and December depending on the climate. They fall from the tree when fully ripe, roughly at the start of the rainy season. The fruit is a yellow-orange berry, roughly spherical in shape, with a dry remnant of the calyx opposite to the stem; it is about one inch (2–3 cm or 0.8–1.2 in) in diameter and usually weighs 6–14 grams (0.21–0.49 oz). [3] It has a thin waxy skin and a sweet-sour and slightly astringent pulp, 1–2 mm thick, loosely enclosing one to three round and light gray seeds.
The fruits is edible raw, but when consumed in quantity it has a laxative effect — which justifies the species name dysenterica (as well as the local Portuguese name). It keeps for three days at room temperature, or 10 days if refrigerated. It is locally used for sweets, jams, beverages, and sherbets, either at home or by small-scale industries. It contains substantial quantities of polyunsaturated fatty acids (chiefly linoleic acid and linolenic acid) and vitamin C (18 mg/100g). Unripe berries can be used for cattle feed. [2]
The wood is dense (0.82 g/cm3), hard, and finely grained, but of inferior quality; it is used for fence posts, firewood, charcoal, and occasionally for rustic furniture and other light construction. [2]
The bark is used for tanning leather and for cork products; it is also used in folk medicine against dysentery. [2]
The leaves are used for cattle feed, and in folk medicine as heart tonic and as treatment for dysentery, diabetes, and jaundice. The oil extracted from the leaves has been claimed to have antifungal properties (against Cryptococcus neoformans ). [2]
Its numerous bright berries and dark green foliage earned it some use as a decorative plant.
The plant can be easily reproduced from seeds (which contain about 50% water and cannot withstand drying). [3] Planted 2 cm (0.79 in) deep, they germinate in 40 to 60 days. It can also be reproduced in vitro from gems. The plant is adapted to the poor soils of the Cerrado but benefits from fertilizers containing calcium and phosphorus as well as organic fertilizers. Agricultural pests include the brown spot disease, caused by a fungus ( Phleosporella sp.), leaf-cutting ants, and fruit flies such as Anastrepha obliqua .
Tocantins is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers 277,620.91 square kilometres (107,190.03 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 2014. Construction of its capital, Palmas, began in 1989; most of the other cities in the state date to the Portuguese colonial period. With the exception of Araguaína there are few other cities with a significant population in the state. The government has invested in a new capital, a major hydropower dam, railroads and related infrastructure to develop this primarily agricultural area. The state has 0.75% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 0.5% of the Brazilian GDP.
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, Diospyros kaki. Diospyros is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-persimmon species of the genus are grown for ebony timber. In 2019, China produced 75% of the world total of persimmons.
Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and Bolivia, to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising. Crossed in the south by the Tropic of Capricorn, Mato Grosso do Sul generally has a warm, sometimes hot, and humid climate, and is crossed by numerous tributaries of the Paraná River. The state has 1,3% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1,5% of the Brazilian GDP.
Passiflora edulis, commonly known as passion fruit, is a vine species of passion flower native to southern Brazil through Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical areas for its sweet, seedy fruit. The fruit is a pepo, a type of berry, round to oval, either yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The fruit is both eaten and juiced, the juice often added to other fruit juices to enhance aroma.
Mammea americana, commonly known as mammee, mammee apple, mamey, mamey apple, Santo Domingo apricot, tropical apricot, or South American apricot, is an evergreen tree of the family Calophyllaceae, whose fruit is edible. It has also been classified as belonging to the family Guttiferae Juss. (1789), which would make it a relative of the mangosteen.
Myrica californica is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Pacific Ocean coast of North America from Vancouver Island south to California as far south as the Long Beach area.
Spondias mombin, also known as yellow mombin or hog plum is a species of tree and flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree was introduced by the Portuguese in South Asia in the beginning of the 17th century. It has been naturalized in parts of Africa, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The Bahamas, Indonesia, and other Caribbean islands. It is rarely cultivated except in parts of the Brazilian Northeast.
Eugenia luschnathiana is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to the state of Bahia, Brazil. The fruit is known as pitomba-da-bahia, and is also called uvalha do campo, ubaid do campo or uvalheira in Brazil. It shares the name pitomba with another South American species, Talisia esculenta.
Muntingia is a genus of plants in the family Muntingiaceae, comprising only one species, Muntingia calabura, and was named in honour of Abraham Munting. It is native to the neotropics, from Mexico south to Bolivia, with edible fruit, and has been widely introduced in other tropical areas.
Eugenia stipitata is a fruit tree native to Amazon Rainforest vegetation in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.
Garcinia morella is a species of tree in the family Clusiaceae found in India, and Sri Lanka.
Solanum erianthum is a species of nightshade that is native to southern North America and northern South America. It has been introduced to other parts of the world and has a nearly pantropical distribution. Common names include potatotree, mullein nightshade, velvet nightshade, and salvadora. The potatoes are not the fruits of the trees, they are the leaves.
Annona crassiflora, commonly known as marolo, araticum cortiça, araticum do cerrado or bruto, is a flowering plant in the Annonaceae family. The flowers of a marolo look like jellyfish wearing hats, and the fruits are sweet and very rough. It is native to Brazil and Paraguay and the fruit is eaten by native peoples in the Brazilian Cerrado. Although it is considered to have potential for cultivation, it has not been domesticated to date.
Hydnocarpus wightianus or chaulmoogra is a tree in the Achariaceae family. Hydnocarpus wightiana seed oil has been widely used in traditional Indian medicine, especially in Ayurveda, and in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of leprosy. It entered early Western medicine in the nineteenth century before the era of sulfonamides and other antibiotics for the treatment of several skin diseases and leprosy. The oil was prescribed for leprosy as a mixture suspended in gum or as an emulsion.
Anacardium othonianum is a tree native from the tropical savanna (cerrado) region of Brazil, whose fruit is similar to that of the common cashew tree of the Brazilian Northeast. It is locally known by the Tupi-derived name cajuí, and by the Portuguese names caju-de-árvore-do-cerrado, caju-vermelho-de-goiás, cajuzinho-do-cerrado or just cajuzinho.
Phulwara oil is extracted from seeds of Phulwara tree. Phulwara Trees are also known locally as Chiuri Trees, Kaeleb Trees, or Butter Nut Trees. Refined Phulwara Oil is marketed as Phulwara Ghee.
Hymenaea stiginocarpa is an irregularly shaped, mostly 6–9 m (20–30 ft) high tree that has been assigned to the pea family. It has a twisted spindle-shaped trunk, a very rough grey bark, and reddish-brown twigs. The deciduous leaves consist of two large asymmetrical leaflets with an entire margin. The flowers occur in clusters of up to thirty at the end of the branches. It produces edible, highly appreciated fruits, which are often collected from the wild and used by local people. The vernacular name of this species in Brazil is jatobá do cerrado.
Parkia pendula is a neotropical evergreen tree found throughout Central and South America. They are part of the Parkia genus, a group of flowering plants that are part of the legume family Fabaceae.
Myrciaria delicatula, commonly known as cambuí uvaia doce, cambuí graudo, cambuim, or cambu branco, is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae.
Eugenia calycina, also known as savannah cherry, field cherry, Jabuti cherry, Grao de galo, cerejinha, cereja de cerrado, pitanga-vermelha, red pitanga, pitanga cherry of cerrado, and ca-ajaboti, is a flowering shrub in the family Myrtaceae.
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