Couroupita guianensis
| Couroupita guianensis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Lecythidaceae |
| Genus: | Couroupita |
| Species: | C. guianensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Couroupita guianensis | |
| Synonyms | |
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Couroupita guianensis, known by a variety of common names including cannonball tree,
Description
Couroupita guianensis is a tree that reaches heights of up to 35 m (110 ft).[7] The leaves, which occur in clusters at the ends of branches, are usually 8 to 31 centimeters (3 to 12 inches) long, but can reach lengths of up to 57 cm (22 in).[7]
Flowers
The flowers are borne in racemes up to 80 cm (31 in) long formed directly from the tree's trunk. They are considered an extreme example of cauliflory named flagelliflory. Some trees flower profusely until the entire trunk is covered with racemes. One tree can hold as many as 1000 flowers per day. The flowers are strongly scented, and are especially fragrant at night[8] and in the early morning.[7] They are up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter, with six petals, and are typically brightly colored, with the petals ranging from shades of pink and red near the bases to yellowish toward the tips. There are two areas of stamens: a ring of stamens at the center, and an arrangement of stamens that have been modified into a hood.[7]
Fruits
The fruits are spherical with a woody shell and reach diameters of up to 25 cm (9.8 in), giving the species the common name "cannonball tree". Smaller fruits may contain about 65 seeds, while large ones can hold as many as 550.[7] One tree can bear 150 fruits. The fruits take up to a year to mature in most areas, sometimes as long as 18 months. The fruit flesh is white and turns blue upon oxidation, a reaction with air.
Scientific name
The tree was named Couroupita guianensis by the French botanist Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet in 1775.
The Latin
Pollination
Although the flowers lack nectar, they are very attractive to
Dispersal
The seeds are dispersed by animals that feed on the fruits. When the fruits fall to the ground, the hard, woody shell usually cracks open, exposing the pulp and seeds. Fruits that remain whole may be broken open by animals such as peccaries. Many animals feed on the pulp and seeds, including peccaries, the paca, and domestic chickens and pigs. The seeds are covered with trichomes which may protect them as they pass through the animals' digestive systems.[7]
Human uses
Couroupita guianensis is planted as an ornamental for its showy, scented flowers, and as a botanical specimen for its fruit.[7]
The fruit is edible but is not usually eaten by people because, in contrast to its intensely fragrant flowers, it can have an unpleasant smell.[10] It is fed to livestock such as pigs and domestic fowl.[7]
Parts of the plant have been used in traditional medicine. It has been used to treat hypertension, tumors, pain, and inflammation, the common cold, stomachache, skin conditions and wounds, malaria, and toothache, although data on its efficacy are lacking.[5]
The fruit and flowers are known to contain the chemical compounds indigotin and indirubin, the same blue dye compounds contained by the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria), and studies are being made of its possible use as a natural dye for fibers.[11]
Cultural significance
While the tree is not native to
Gallery
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A flower (Singapore Botanic Gardens) -
Leaves (Hyderabad, India) -
Inflorescences with flowers in bud (Dhaka, Bangladesh) -
Flower buds close up (Maharashtra, India) -
Flowers -
Flower in longitudinal section showing ovary (Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos, Cuba) -
Fruits (Tamil Nadu, India) -
Fruit at Waimea Botanical Garden on the island of O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi -
Tree trunk (Kolkata, India)
_young_leaves_in_Hyderabad,_AP_W_IMG_6606.jpg)
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References
- ^ . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "Couroupita guianensis Aubl. — the Plant List".
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 189.
- ^ "Couroupita guianensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ a b c d Al-Dhabi, N. A., et al. (2012). Antimicrobial, antimycobacterial and antibiofilm properties of Couroupita guianensis Aubl. fruit extract. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 12 242–50.
- ^ "In Sri Lanka, a South American flower usurps a tree sacred to Buddhists and Hindus". 27 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Prance, G. T. & S. A. Mori. Couroupita guianensis Aubl. New York Botanical Garden. 2013.
- ^ Brown, S. H. Couroupita guianensis. University of Florida IFAS Extension.
- ISBN 978-1845337315.
- ^ Lim, T. K. Couroupita guianensis. In: Edible Medicinal and Nonmedicinal Plants. Volume 3: Fruits. Springer. 2012.
- ISSN 2198-0802.
- ^ "In Sri Lanka, a South American flower usurps a tree sacred to Buddhists and Hindus". mongabay. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
External links
Data related to Couroupita guianensis at Wikispecies
