Platonia

Last updated

Platonia
Bacuri Platonia insignis 3.JPG
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Clusiaceae
Tribe: Symphonieae
Genus: Platonia
Mart.
Species:
P. insignis
Binomial name
Platonia insignis
Synonyms

Aristoclesia esculenta Stuntz
Moronobea esculenta
Platonia esculenta (Arruda) Rickett & Stafleu

Contents

P. insignis wood Platonia insignis MHNT.BOT.2010.6.50.jpg
P. insignis wood

Platonia insignis, the sole species of the genus Platonia, is a tree of the family Clusiaceae native to South America in the humid forests of Brazil, Paraguay, parts of Colombia and northeast to Guyana; especially in Amazon Rainforest. Common names include bacuri (and numerous variant spellings thereof; bacurí, bacury, bakuri, pacuri, pakuri, pakouri, packoeri, pakoeri), maniballi, naranjillo and bacurizeiro.

There was a degree of nomenclatural confusion, caused by Moronobea esculenta. If that were validly published for this species the current name would be Platonia esculenta. It was established that Moronobea esculenta is not a formal name (not "validly published"), so the name remains Platonia insignis. [1] [2]

Platonia is related to Montrouziera [3] from New Caledonia.

Description

Platonia insignis is a dry-season deciduous tree, reaching 25–40 m high. It has a pyramidal crown and copious yellow latex in the bark. The leaves are opposite, simple oblong to elliptic, 8–15 cm long, and glossy dark green, with wavy margins and a leathery texture.

The flowers are 5–7 cm long and pink in color, with five petals and numerous stamens. The fruit is round to oval and 7–14 cm long, with a thick, yellow skin. It resembles a papaya. The rind exudes a yellow latex when pressed. [4] The sticky white pulp is fragrant, with a taste that is both sweet and sour. There are 3 to 5 seeds.

The white-bellied parrot (Pionites leucogaster) is a pollinator of the plant, making it ornithophilous. [5]

Cultivation and uses

Bacuri plantation Bacurizal.jpg
Bacuri plantation

The bacuri is grown for its fruit, which is made into various condiments and beverages. It contains high levels of phosphorus, iron, and vitamin C. The oily brown seeds are used as a home remedy to treat skin conditions. Its yellowish wood is frequently used as timber.

Oil and butter

Bacuri butter Bacuri fruit and the butter from the seeds.JPG
Bacuri butter

The grease of the bacuri oil has a high absorption rate, due to its high level of tripalmitin (50% to 55%), which penetrates the skin quickly. The high amount of fatty palmitoleic acid (5%), compared to other oils (less than or equal to 0.5 to 1.5%), makes the bacuri oil useful as an emollient and moisturizing agent. [6] [ full citation needed ]

Physico-chemical data

IndexUnitReference value
Iodine Indexgl2/100g57
saponification indexmgKOH/g211
aciditymgKOH/g10,71
Index peroxidemeq/Kg5
Fusion point°C35

[7]

Chemistry

Platonia is a natural source of trioxygenated xanthones. [8] The latex contains resinotol. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mango</span> Species of fruit

A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree Mangifera indica. It is believed to have originated between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. M. indica has been cultivated in South and Southeast Asia since ancient times resulting in two types of modern mango cultivars: the "Indian type" and the "Southeast Asian type". Other species in the genus Mangifera also produce edible fruits that are also called "mangoes", the majority of which are found in the Malesian ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papaya</span> Species of tropical fruit plant

The papaya, papaw, or pawpaw is the plant species Carica papaya, one of the 21 accepted species in the genus Carica of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and Central America. In 2020, India produced 43% of the world's supply of papayas.

<i>Morchella</i> Genus of fungi

Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales. These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with pits composing their caps. Morels are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly in Catalan and French cuisine. Due to difficulties in cultivation, commercial harvesting of wild morels has become a multimillion-dollar industry in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in particular North America, Turkey, China, the Himalayas, India, and Pakistan where these highly prized fungi are found in abundance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clusiaceae</span> Family of mainly tropical flowering plants

The Clusiaceae or GuttiferaeJuss. (1789) are a family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae and Hypericaceae. They are mostly trees and shrubs, with milky sap and fruits or capsules for seeds. The family is primarily tropical. More so than many plant families, it shows large variation in plant morphology. According to the APG III, this family belongs to the order Malpighiales.

<i>Artocarpus integer</i> Asian tree related to breadfruit and jackfruit

Artocarpus integer, commonly known as chempedak or cempedak, is a species of tree in the family Moraceae in the same genus as breadfruit and jackfruit. It is native to Southeast Asia. Cempedak is an important crop in Malaysia and is also popularly cultivated in southern Thailand and parts of Indonesia, and has the potential to be utilized in other areas. Cempedak is currently limited in range to Southeast Asia, with some trees in Australia and Hawaii.

<i>Morchella esculenta</i> Species of fungus

Morchella esculenta, is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae of the Ascomycota. It is one of the most readily recognized of all the edible mushrooms and highly sought after. Each fruit body begins as a tightly compressed, grayish sponge with lighter ridges, and expands to form a large yellowish sponge with large pits and ridges raised on a large white stem. The pitted yellow-brown caps measure 2–7 centimetres broad by 2–10 cm (1–4 in) tall, and are fused to the stem at its lower margin, forming a continuous hollow. The pits are rounded and irregularly arranged. The hollow stem is typically 2–9 cm long by 2–5 cm (1–2 in) thick, and white to yellow. The fungus fruits under hardwoods and conifers during a short period in the spring, depending on the weather, and is also associated with old orchards, woods and disturbed grounds.

<i>Chrysophyllum cainito</i> Species of tree

Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is native to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was domesticated. It has spread to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies and is now grown throughout the tropics, including Southeast Asia. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 meters in height.

<i>Sapindus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the lychee family Sapindaceae

Sapindus is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the lychee family, Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Members of the genus are commonly known as soapberries or soapnuts because the fruit pulp is used to make soap. The generic name is derived from the Latin words sapo, meaning "soap", and indicus, meaning "of India".

<i>Pouteria caimito</i> Species of plant

Pouteria caimito, the abiu, is a tropical fruit tree originated in the Amazonian region of South America. It grows to an average of 10 metres (33 ft) high, and can grow as high as 35 metres (115 ft) under good conditions. Its fruits' shape varies from round to oval, pointed at the distal end. When ripe, it has smooth, bright yellow skin and has one to four ovate seeds. The inside of the fruit is translucent and white. It has a creamy and jelly-like texture and its taste is similar to the sapodilla — a sweet caramel custard. The abiu tree is part of the family Sapotaceae and is very similar in appearance to the canistel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White sapote</span> Species of tree

The white sapote, scientific name Casimiroa edulis, also called casimiroa and Mexican apple, and known as cochitzapotl in the Nahuatl language is a species of tropical fruiting tree in the family Rutaceae, native to eastern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica. The genus is named for "an Otomi Indian, Casimiro Gómez, from the town of Cardonal in Hidalgo, Mexico, who fought and died in Mexico's war of independence."

<i>Eugenia luschnathiana</i> Species of tree

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, ubaia do campo or uvalheira in Brazil. It shares the name pitomba with another South American species, Talisia esculenta.

<i>Astrocaryum vulgare</i> Species of palm

Astrocaryum vulgare is a very spiny palm native to the Guianas and the Amazon. It is species which has greatly benefited from deforestation, as it cannot grow in undisturbed rainforest. In Brazil it is considered typical of Pará state in the north of the lower Amazon. This plant has edible fruit.

<i>Astrocaryum murumuru</i> Species of palm

Astrocaryum murumuru is a palm native to Amazon Rainforest vegetation in Brazil, which bears edible fruits. Murumuru butter, extracted from the seeds of the plant, may be used as a moisturizer. One remarkable feature of this palm is that it is covered with spines up to twelve inches in length.

<i>Astrocaryum aculeatum</i> Species of palm

Astrocaryum aculeatum is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad. It grows up to 15 m (49 ft) tall and is usually solitary. It has ascending leaves, erect inflorescence, and yellow fruit.

<i>Mangifera indica</i> Species of flowering plant in the cashew family Anacardiaceae

Mangifera indica, commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of 30 metres. There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoes – the "Indian type" and the "Southeast Asian type".

<i>Morchella rufobrunnea</i> Species of edible fungus in the family Morchellaceae

Morchella rufobrunnea, commonly known as the blushing morel, is a species of ascomycete fungus in the family Morchellaceae. A choice edible species, the fungus was described as new to science in 1998 by mycologists Gastón Guzmán and Fidel Tapia from collections made in Veracruz, Mexico. Its distribution was later revealed to be far more widespread after several DNA studies suggested that it is also present in the West Coast of the United States, Israel, Australia, Cyprus, Malta and Switzerland.

<i>Manilkara huberi</i> Species of flowering plant

Manilkara huberi, also known as masaranduba, níspero, and sapotilla, is a fruit bearing plant of the genus Manilkara of the family Sapotaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Arruda da Câmara</span>

Padre Manuel Arruda da Câmara was a Brazilian cleric, physician and scientist, who became known as one of the great Brazilian botanists of the late eighteenth century.

Butia arenicola is a very small species of Butia palm with an underground trunk; native to Paraguay and the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil. Boquierinho is recorded as a possible local vernacular name for it.

References

  1. van Rijckevorsel 2002.
  2. Kirkbride 2007.
  3. Ruhfel, B. R., V. Bittrich, C. P. Bove, M. H. G. Gustafsson, C. T. Philbrick, R. Rutishauser, Z. Xi, and C. C. Davis (2011). Phylogeny of the Clusioid Clade (Malpighiales): Evidence from the Plastid and Mitochondrial Genomes. American Journal of Botany 98: 306–25.
  4. Rogez, H., et al. (2004). Chemical composition of the pulp of three typical Amazonian fruits: araça-boi (Eugenia stipitata), bacuri (Platonia insignis) and cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum). European Food Research and Technology 214(4) doi : 10.1007/s00217-003-0853-6
  5. Cornell University Caique Glossary Archived 2007-10-27 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Morais, L. R. Banco de Dados Sobre Espécies Oleaginosas da Amazônia, não-publicado
  7. MORAIS, L. R. B.: Produção de óleo de duas espécies amazônicas por prensagem: Bacuri Platonia insignis (Mart.) e Pracachy Pentaclethra macroloba (Willd), 2005, Monografia em Curso de Mestrado Em Química Orgânica, Universidade Federal do Pará, Centro de Ciências Exatas e Naturais 76pp. Não publicada.
  8. Peres, V. and T. J. Nagem. (1997). Trioxygenated naturally occurring xanthones. Phytochemistry 44(2) 191-214. doi : 10.1016/S0031-9422(96)00421-9
  9. "Platonia insignis". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-08-15.

Bibliography