Florida fishpoison tree | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Piscidia |
Species: | P. piscipula [2] |
Binomial name | |
Piscidia piscipula [2] (L.) Sarg. | |
Synonyms | |
Piscidia erythrina L. Contents |
Piscidia piscipula, commonly named Florida fishpoison tree, Jamaican dogwood, or fishfuddle, is a medium-sized, deciduous, tropical tree in the Fabaceae family. It is native to the Greater Antilles (except Puerto Rico), extreme southern Florida (primarily the Florida Keys) and the Bahamas, and the coastal region from Panama northward to the vicinity of Ocampo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. [3] The native Taino of the West Indies discovered that extracts from the tree could sedate fish, allowing them to be caught by hand. [3] This practice led to the tree's common names—fishpoison and fishfuddle. The tree has medicinal value as an analgesic and sedative. [4]
The generic name is Latin for "fish killer", and the specific epithet is Latin for "little fish". [5]
The Florida fishpoison tree grows in coastal zones. It prefers well-drained, sandy soils, with a top layer of humus. [6] The tree has some tolerance to short-term storm surges of brackish water or seawater. Although it grows in coastal conditions, the tree is usually protected from direct salt spray by adjoining vegetation. Established trees are highly tolerant of drought. Its sensitivity to the cold limits Florida fishpoison tree to areas no colder than plant hardiness zone 11.
The Florida fishpoison tree attains medium size with heights of 12 to 15 m and bole diameters of 46 to 118 cm. An irregular, open crown develops with stout, erect branches. [3]
Its deciduous leaves (9 to 23 cm long) are alternate and pinnately compound. Five to 11 leaflets (each 4 to 8 cm long) are present in an opposite arrangement. Leaflets are dark green above and distinctly paler grayish-green below with pubescence. [7]
Its white flowers are tinged with red or pink. [3] They appear in pea-like clusters in May and are attractive to bees. Trees potentially bloom when about 4 m tall and 4 years old. Flowers develop into a light brown, bean-like pod (8 to 10 cm long) with four papery wings. Ripening in July and August, the pods contain red-brown, beanlike seeds.
Stem bark is thin and olive gray in color with irregular dark patches and many smaller scales. [3] The bark has an unpleasant odor and a distinctly acrid and bitter taste, causing a burning sensation in the mouth.
After removal from the ripe pod, seeds germinate in 8 to 10 days when sown about 6 mm deep in moist soil. [5] Until seedlings become well established, they should be fertilized and watered. Cuttings placed in moist soil quickly sprout roots. In fact, rooting has been observed to occur so readily, posts made from fresh timber occasionally will take root unintentionally.
The Florida fishpoison tree is a larval host plant for several butterfly species, including: the native cassius blue butterfly ( Leptotes cassius ), hammock skipper ( Polygonus leo ) and the introduced fulvous hairstreak ( Electrostrymon angelia ). [6]
In areas with a suitable climate and soils, Florida fishpoison tree makes a hardy, medium-sized shade tree with attractive seasonal flowers. It is ideal for yards and along fence rows. [5] The species is shade intolerant, requiring full sunlight for maximum development.
The yellow-brown wood of fishpoison tree is resistant to decay, making its timber suitable for outdoor usage, such as boat building, fence posts, and poles. [3] The dense, tight-grained wood is also used as a fuel, to make charcoal, and as a good carving material.
Indigenous peoples all over the world used local poisonous plants to aid in catching fish, and because of this many plants bear common names descriptive of this use. [8] Within its natural range, the Taino and other native tribes used an extract from the bark, roots, twigs, and leaves of Florida fishpoison tree to sedate fish, making them easier to catch. A number of chemicals present in the tree's tissues are toxic to fish, the principal one being the well-known rotenone. [5]
P. piscipula can be toxic and should only be used under direction of a doctor. [9] Dosage must be individually determined. [10] It has been used in herbal medicine for treating nervous conditions, pain, and insomnia. [11] Recent scientific studies in animals suggest that bark extracts may have potential for their anti-inflammatory, sedative, and antispasmodic effects. [9]
Cornus florida, the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida and west to the Mississippi River. The tree is commonly planted as an ornamental in residential and public areas because of its showy bracts and interesting bark structure.
Erythrina is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to 30 m (98 ft) in height. These species are known for their large flowers with long and bright red or orange petals.
Bixa orellana, also known as achiote, is a shrub or small tree native to Central America. Bixa orellana is grown in many countries worldwide.
Quercus stellata, the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges, and also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to rot, fire, and drought. Interbreeding occurs among white oaks, thus many hybrid species combinations occur. It is identifiable by the rounded cross-like shape formed by the leaf lobes and hairy underside of the leaves.
Coccoloba uvifera is a species of tree and flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, that is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including central & southern Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and Bermuda. Common names include seagrape and baygrape.
Erythrina herbacea, commonly known as the coral bean, Cherokee bean, Mamou plant in South Louisiana, red cardinal or cardinal spear, is a flowering shrub or small tree found throughout the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico; it has also been reported from parts of Central America and, as an introduced species, from Pakistan. Various other systematic names have been used for this plant in the past, including Erythrina arborea, Erythrina hederifolia, Erythrina humilis, Erythrina rubicunda, Corallodendron herbaceum and Xyphanthus hederifolius.
Cornus nuttallii, the Pacific dogwood,western dogwood, or mountain dogwood, is a species of dogwood tree native to western North America. The tree's name used by Hul'q'umi'num'-speaking nations is Kwi’txulhp.
The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden is a frost-free arboretum and botanical garden containing a collection of trees, shrubs, and palms, including several "champion tree" specimens. It is located on Stock Island in the municipality of Key West, Florida, United States. It is open daily. There is a nominal fee for admission, with free admission for locals on the first Sunday of every month.
Chrysobalanus icaco, the cocoplum, paradise plum, abajeru or icaco, also called fat pork in Trinidad and Tobago, is a low shrub or bushy tree found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical Africa, tropical Americas and the Caribbean, and in southern Florida and the Bahamas. An evergreen, it is also found as an exotic species on other tropical islands, where it has become a problematic invasive. Although taxonomists disagree on whether Chrysobalanus icaco has multiple subspecies or varieties, it is recognized as having two ecotypes, described as an inland, much less salt-tolerant, and more upright C. icaco var. pellocarpus and a coastal C. icaco var. icaco. Both the ripe fruit of C. icaco, and the seed inside the ridged shell it contains, are considered edible.
Cornus alternifolia is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to southern Manitoba and Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Mississippi. It is rare in the southern United States. It is commonly known as green osier, alternate-leaved dogwood, and pagoda dogwood.
Rhizophora mangle, also known as the red mangrove, is a salt-tolerant, small-to-medium sized evergreen tree restricted to coastal, estuarine ecosystems along the southern portions of North America, the Caribbean as well as Central America and tropical West Africa. Its viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. These are dispersed by water until eventually embedding in the shallows.
Vaccinium arboreum is a species of Vaccinium native to the southeastern and south-central United States, from southern Virginia west to southeastern Nebraska, south to Florida and eastern Texas, and north to Illinois.
Bursera simaruba, commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, almácigo, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean to Brazil, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Bursera simaruba is prevalent in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatán, where it is a subdominant plant species to the mangroves. In the United States, specimens may be found in the Gulf of Mexico along the western coast of Florida.
Muntingia is a genus of plants in the family Muntingiaceae, comprising only one species, Muntingia calabura, named in honour of Abraham Munting. It is native from Mexico south to Bolivia and Argentina. Its fruit is edible, and it has been widely introduced in other tropical areas.
Guaiacum sanctum, commonly known as holywood, lignum vitae or holywood lignum-vitae, is a species of flowering plant in the creosote bush family, Zygophyllaceae. It is native to the Neotropical realm, from Mexico through Central America, Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It has been introduced to other tropical areas of the world. It is currently threatened by habitat loss in its native region, and as such, is currently rated near threatened on the IUCN Red List. Guaiacum sanctum is the national tree of the Bahamas.
Cornus drummondii, commonly known as the roughleaf dogwood, is a small deciduous tree that is native primarily to the Great Plains and Midwestern regions of the United States. It is also found around the Mississippi River. It is uncommon in the wild, and is mostly found around forest borders. The roughleaf dogwood is used as a buffer strip around parking lots, in the median of highways and near the decks and patios of homes. It can grow to a height of 15 to 25 feet with a spread of 10 to 15 feet. The roughleaf dogwood flowers during the summer months. It produces near-white four-petaled flowers that are followed by small white fruits, which ripen from August to October. These dogwoods can form a dense thicket that is used as cover for wildlife. Over forty species of birds are known to feed on the fruits.
Piscidia is a genus of flowering plants in subfamily Faboideae of the family Fabaceae. It includes seven species of trees, and rarely shrubs, native to the tropical Americas, ranging from northern Mexico and Florida through Central America and the Caribbean to Venezuela and Peru. Typical habitats include seasonally-dry tropical forest, woodland, and bushland, often on rocky hills, with some species restricted to limestone substrates.
Trema orientale is a species of flowering tree in the hemp family, Cannabaceae. It is known by many common names, including charcoal-tree, Indian charcoal-tree, pigeon wood, Oriental trema, and in Hawaii, where it has become naturalized, gunpowder tree, or nalita. It has a near universal distribution in tropical and warm temperate parts of the Old World, with a range extending from South Africa, through the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and southern China to Southeast Asia and Australia.
Quercus geminata, commonly called sand live oak, is an evergreen oak tree native to the coastal regions of the subtropical southeastern United States, along the Atlantic Coast from southern Florida northward to southeastern Virginia and along the Gulf Coast westward to southern Mississippi, on seacoast dunes and on white sands in evergreen oak scrubs.
Albizia coriaria is a deciduous tree native to Tropical Africa belonging to the family Fabaceae, the root and stem bark are widely used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases.