Bridelia micrantha

Mitzeerie
Fresh leaves of Bridelia micrantha from Amanzimtoti, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Phyllanthaceae
Tribe: Bridelieae
Genus: Bridelia
Species: B. micrantha
Binomial name
Bridelia micrantha
(Hochst.) Baill.[1]
Synonyms[2][3]

Bridelia micrantha, the Mitzeeri or the Coastal Golden-leaf, is a tree in the Phyllanthaceae family and is native to tropical and southern Africa as well as to the Island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.[4]

Description

A medium to tall tree (up to 20 m),[5] with a dense widely spreading crown.[6] The leaves are large, alternate and simple.[5] The tree may be deciduous or evergreen.[7]

Habitat

They are found growing in coastal forests (such as KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Lowland Forest), riverine forest, swamp forest,[5] woodland and along forest margins.[7]

Native distribution

Bridelia micrantha is native to primarily tropical, northeast, western, west-central, and southern Africa (in Angola; Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia;[5] Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Nigeria; Rwanda; São Tomé & Príncipe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Africa (in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga; and Swaziland);[5] Sudan; Tanzania (inclusive of the Zanzibar Archipelago); Togo; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe); and the western Indian Ocean island of Réunion.[7][8]

Ecological significance

Bridelia micrantha is a larval food plant for butterflies such as: Abantis paradisea, Charaxes castor flavifasciatus and Parosmodes morantii morantii,[9] and also the silkmoth Anaphe panda.[10]

Ethnobotanical medicinal use

Bridelia micrantha has been used locally in folk medicine, variously as an anti-abortifacient, an antidote, a laxative or purgative; and to treat diverse conditions of the central nervous system (headache), eye (infections, conjunctivitis), the gastrointestinal system (abdominal pain, constipation, gastritis), respiratory system (common cold), and the skin (scabies); [11] and used hygienically as a mouthwash.[11]

References

  1. ↑  Under its treatment as Bridelia micrantha (from the basionym Candelabria micrantha) this name was first published in Adansonia 3: 164. 1862. "Name - Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill.". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Name - Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill. synonyms". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  3. ↑  The basionym of Bridelia micrantha (Candelabria micrantha) was originally described and published in Flora 26: 79. 1843. "Name - Candelabria micrantha Hochst.". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Pooley, E. (1993). The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. ISBN 0-620-17697-0.
  6. ↑ Radcliffe-Smith A. Flora of West Tropical Africa, Vol 1 Part 2.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Bridelia micrantha". Flora of Zimbabwe. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  8. ↑ GRIN (January 30, 2002). "Bridelia micrantha information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  9. ↑ http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/brideliamicrantha.htm, retrieved 02 September 2010
  10. ↑ 2008 Research Paper: Spatial distribution of cocoon nests and egg clusters of the silkmoth Anaphe panda (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae) and its host plant Bridelia micrantha (Euphorbiaceae) in the Kakamega Forest of western Kenya. doi:10.1017/S1742758407859662
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 James A. Duke. "Bridelia micrantha (EUPHORBIACEAE)". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Retrieved November 5, 2011.

External links