Trema micranthum

Trema micranthum
In Brasília
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Cannabaceae
Genus:	Trema
Species:	T. micranthum
Binomial name
Trema micranthum (L.) Blume
Synonyms [1]
List Calyptracordia alba(Jacq.) Britton Cordia alba (Jacq.)Roem. & Schult Gerascanthus albus(Jacq.) Borhidi Lithocardium album(Jacq.) Kuntze Lithocardium albumKuntze Celtis albicansWilld. ex Steud. Celtis canescensKunth Celtis chichileaRuiz & Pav. ex Planch. Celtis curiandiubaM.Gómez ex Planch. Celtis limaLam. Celtis macrophyllaKunth Celtis micrantha(L.) Sw. Celtis microcarpaSalzm. ex Planch. Celtis mollisHumb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. Celtis rufescensBanks ex Planch. Celtis schiedeanaSchltdl. Rhamnus micranthaL. (Basionym) Sponia canescens(Kunth) Decne. Sponia chichileaPlanch. Sponia crassifoliaLiebm. Sponia griseaLiebm. Sponia limaDecne. Sponia macrophylla(Kunth) Decne. Sponia micrantha(L.) Decne. ex Planch. Sponia micrantha(L.) Decne. Sponia mollisDecne. Sponia peruvianaKlotzsch Sponia ripariaDecne. Sponia schiedeana(Schltdl.) Planch. Trema canescens(Kunth) Blume Trema chichilea(Planch.) Blume Trema floridanaBritton ex Small Trema limaBlume Trema macrophylla(Kunth) Blume Trema melinonaBlume Trema micrantha var. obtusatumUrb. Trema micrantha var. strigillosa(Lundell) Standl. & Steyerm. Trema mollis(Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Blume Trema ripariaBlume Trema rufescensBlume Trema schiedeana(Schltdl.) Blume Trema strigillosaLundell Urtica alnifoliaBertero ex Griseb.

Trema micranthum (sometimes Trema micrantha), the Jamaican nettletree ^[2] or capulin, ^[3] is a plant species native to warmer parts of the Western Hemisphere. It has been reported from Mexico, Central America, tropical South America, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and southern Florida. ^{[1] [4] [5]}

Description

Trema micranthrum is a shrub or small pioneer tree up to 10 m (33 ft) tall or more. Leaves are egg-shaped, up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, green on top but covered with white, woolly pubescence underneath. Flowers are greenish-white. Fruits are yellow to bright reddish-range, up to 4 mm (0.16 in) in diameter. ^{[4] [6] [7]} It is noted for its fast growth rate; as much as 14 m (46 ft) in two years has been recorded. ^[8]

Uses

Following the recent local extirpation of slow-growing xalama in San Pablito, Mexico due to unsustainable harvesting driven by tourism, the Otomi people now use T. micranthum bark strips as a raw material for making handmade amate paper. ^[9]

Phytochemicals

Claims have been made that T. micranthum may contain cannabidiol, ^[10] a non-psychoactive but medicinally useful component known from Cannabis . However, as with similar claims previously made about the related plant Trema orientale , ^[11] such claims have not yet been independently replicated by other researchers and are not yet widely accepted by the scientific community. ^[12] Also, a more recent publication did not provide conclusive evidence, e.g. in the form of fragmentation spectra or the analysis of isolated compounds by NMR. ^[13]

References

1. "Trema micranthum (L.) Blume". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
2. NRCS. "Trema micratha". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 14 December 2015.
3. "Trema micrantha". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 5 September 2020.
4. "Trema micrantha". Flora of North America @ efloras.org.
5. "rema micrantha (L.) Blume distribution". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
6. Blume CL (November 1, 1856). Museum botanicum Lugduno-Batavum, sive, Stirpium exoticarum novarum vel minus cognitarum ex vivis aut siccis brevis expositio et descriptio [Botanical Museum of Lyon-Batau, or, a brief exposition and description of new or less known exotic breeds from living or dry] (in Latin). Vol. 2. E.J. Brill.
7. von Linné C, Salvius L (November 1, 1759). Caroli Linnaei...Systema naturae per regna tria naturae :secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. 2. Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii.
8. Ziegler, Christian; Leigh Jr., Egbert Giles (2002). A Magic Web. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. p. 120 (table 2.2). ISBN   0-19-514328-0.
9. Peters CM, Rosenthal J, Urbina T (1987). "Otomi bark paper in Mexico: commercialization of a pre-hispanic technology". Economic Botany. 41 (3): 423–432. Bibcode:1987EcBot..41..423P. doi:10.1007/BF02859061. S2CID   21173713.
10. Berger JH (4 July 2023). "Medical, but hold the marijuana: new CBD source found in Brazil". phys.org.
11. Napiroon T, Tanruean K, Poolprasert P, Bacher M, Balslev H, Poopath M, Santimaleeworagun W (2021). "Cannabinoids from inflorescences fractions of Trema orientalis (L.) Blume (Cannabaceae) against human pathogenic bacteria". PeerJ. 9: e11446. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11446 . PMC   8126263 . PMID   34035994.
12. Appendino G, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Muñoz E (2022). "Cannabidiol (CBD) From Non-Cannabis Plants: Myth or Reality?". Natural Product Communications. 17 (5): 1934578X221098843. doi: 10.1177/1934578X221098843 . S2CID   248734336.
13. Ribeiro R, da Silva YC, Finotti R, Carneiro GR, Cardoso Dos Santos GR, Pereira HM, Padilha MC, Veiga-Junior VF (2024). "Trema micranthum (L.) Blume as a new source of cannabinoids". Scientific Reports. 14 (1): 29620. Bibcode:2024NatSR..1429620R. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80857-6 . PMC   11604998 . PMID   39609538.

External links

• Media related to Trema micrantha at Wikimedia Commons