Guarea
Guarea | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Meliaceae |
Genus: | Guarea |
Species | |
See text |
Guarea is a genus of evergreen trees in the mahogany family Meliaceae, native to tropical Africa and Central and South America. They are large trees 20–45 m tall, with a trunk over 1 m trunk diameter, often buttressed at the base. The leaves are pinnate, with 4-6 pairs of leaflets, the terminal leaflet present. The flowers are produced in loose inflorescences, each flower small, with 4-5 yellowish petals. The fruit is a four or five-valved capsule, containing several seeds, each surrounded by a yellow-orange fleshy aril; the seeds are dispersed by hornbills and monkeys which eat the fleshy aril.
- Selected species
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Uses
The timber is important; the African species are known as Bossé, Guarea, or Pink Mahogany, and the South American species as Cramantee or American Muskwood. It is said to possibly cause hallucinations if ingested.[1]
The bark of Guarea rusbyi (Britton) Rusby, a synonym of Guarea guidonia (L.) Sleumer,[2] is used as an expectorant[3] named cocillana.[4]
References
- ↑ "05/05/2009 - Scientists get dirt on mystery plant - STLtoday.com". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- ↑ United States Department of Agriculture: Germplasm Resources Information Network
- ↑ Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
- ↑ C. W. Ballard (1922) Histology of cocillana and substitute barks. Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association 11(10):781–787