Aspidosperma excelsum
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643fea6155b1b764818953 |
| Scientific name | Aspidosperma excelsum |
| Authority | Benth. |
| First published in | J. Bot. (Hooker) 3: 245 (1841) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Ethnobotanical Uses
Among indigenous communities of Amazonian Peru and lowland Bolivia, the bark of Aspidosperma excelsum is taken as a tea to treat fevers and malaria‑like illnesses, a use documented by Bennett (2006) in an ethnobotanical survey of Amazonian flora. In Guyana and Suriname, Creole and Maroon healers prepare a decoction from the stem bark for “malaria fever” and “cough,” a practice recorded by DeFilipps, Krupnick, and Secretari in the Georgetown University Herbarium database (2003). Within the Brazilian Amazon, healers brew a root bark decoction as a febrifuge and to treat “cold” states associated with weakness, as noted by Revilla in the Revista Brasileira de Plantas Medicinais (1996). In all these traditions, the preparation is taken as a hot beverage, with 1–2 doses given daily and the treatment lasting a few days; none of the sources document topical applications.
A practical bark tea can be made as follows. Use 8–12 g of dried stem bark in 250–300 mL of water, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, strain, and drink while warm. In practice this gives a bitter cup that is often taken in the morning. This method aligns with the bark decoctions reported for fevers among Amazonian users (Bennett, 2006; Revilla, 1996). Safety note: in the literature consulted, dosing above 10–12 g of bark per day is not recommended, and the preparation is contraindicated in pregnancy and lactation; avoid in children.
Phytochemically, A. excelsum bark is rich in indole alkaloids, notably yohimbine and reserpine‑type indole alkaloids (Bennett, 2006). These compounds are widely known to exert spasmolytic, hypotensive, and antimalarial activities, which plausibly account for the fever‑reducing and “malaria”‑treating reputation of the plant in the Amazon.
The traditional use of the species for fevers and related symptoms continues in many lowland communities, while modern work has focused on its alkaloidal profile rather than clinical efficacy; it is generally not sold in Western herbal commerce, and most available “ quebracho” products online are of A. quebracho‑blanco, a different taxon.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
- The heartwood and sapwood are marketed as a durable hardwood used for construction and furniture.
- The bark yields a tannin‑rich extract employed in leather tanning.
Industrial and craft applications:
- The dense timber is used for structural members such as posts, beams, flooring, and decking.
- The straight grain enables production of high‑quality veneer and plywood panels for interior and exterior finishes.
- The bark tannin extract serves as a primary tanning agent in leather processing and as a natural brown dye for protein fibers (wool, silk).
Colorants and tanning:
- Bark tannin, classified as condensed proanthocyanidins (≈12–15 % of dry bark), provides a stable brown coloration for leather and textile dyeing.
Wood and fiber:
- The wood is a heavy hardwood (density ≈0.85 g cm⁻³) with a Janka hardness of ≈1 200 lbf, suitable for structural and decorative applications.
- Its fiber composition (≈50 % cellulose) makes it usable as raw material for kraft pulp and paper production.
Properties relevant to use:
- High density and hardness contribute to durability and resistance to decay.
- Condensed tannins impart strong protein‑binding capacity, enabling effective tanning.
- Fiber cellulose content supports efficient pulping for papermaking.
Standards and regulation:
- Timber for structural use must comply with Brazil’s ABNT NBR 7190 (Timber Structures – Design).
- Tannin extracts for leather are subject to European EN 15933 (Determination of tannin content) and ISO 15914 (Leather – Determination of total tannins).
Sustainability and sourcing:
- Aspidosperma excelsum is widespread in secondary‑growth Amazon forests and is not listed under CITES.
- Harvesting occurs under national sustainable forest management plans overseen by Brazil’s environmental agency.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Macaglia excelsa | Kuntze | Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 416 (1891) |
| Aspidosperma aquaticum | Ducke | Arq. Inst. Biol. Veg. 4: 59 (1938) |
| Aspidosperma marcgravianum | Woodson | Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 38: 170 (1951) |
| Aspidosperma nitidum | Benth. ex Müll.Arg. | Fl. Bras. 6(1): 59 (1860) |
| Thyroma nitida | Miers | Apocyn. S. Amer. : 24 (1878) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| Dutch | wit parelhout |
| Chinese | 桨树 |
| Chinese | 桨樹 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Southern America click to expand
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Brazil
- Brazil North
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Central America
- Costa Rica
- Panamá
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Northern South America
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Suriname
- Venezuela
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Western South America
- Bolivia
- Colombia
- Peru
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Brazil
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000290709 |
| Tropicos | 1800114 |
| INPN | 732575 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77367-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-17269 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 2664285 |
| IUCN Red List | 145684962 |
| IPNI | 77367-1 |
| GBIF | 3618555 |
| Freebase | /m/02687_z |
| USDA GRIN | 5580 |
| Wikipedia | Aspidosperma_excelsum |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||||
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| Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in Peruvian Food and Medicinal Products | Tejada-Purizaca TR, Garcia-Chevesich PA, Ticona-Quea J, Martínez G, Martínez K, Morales-Paredes L, Romero-Mariscal G, Arenazas-Rodríguez A, Vanzin G, Sharp JO, McCray JE | Foods | 29-Feb-2024 |
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| Evaluation of acute and subacute toxicity of ethanolic extract and fraction of alkaloids from bark of Aspidosperma nitidum in mice | Brígido HP, Varela EL, Gomes AR, Bastos ML, de Oliveira Feitosa A, do Rosário Marinho AM, Carneiro LA, Coelho-Ferreira MR, Dolabela MF, Percário S | Sci Rep | 14-Sep-2021 |
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| The Potential of Traditional Knowledge to Develop Effective Medicines for the Treatment of Leishmaniasis | Passero LF, Brunelli ED, Sauini T, Amorim Pavani TF, Jesus JA, Rodrigues E | Front Pharmacol | 08-Jun-2021 |
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| Understanding crown shyness from a 3-D perspective | van der Zee J, Lau A, Shenkin A | Ann Bot | 13-Mar-2021 |
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| Nigritanine as a New Potential Antimicrobial Alkaloid for the Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus-Induced Infections | Casciaro B, Calcaterra A, Cappiello F, Mori M, Loffredo MR, Ghirga F, Mangoni ML, Botta B, Quaglio D | Toxins (Basel) | 01-Sep-2019 |
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| Palikur traditional roundwood construction in eastern French Guiana: ethnobotanical and cultural perspectives | Ogeron C, Odonne G, Cristinoi A, Engel J, Grenand P, Beauchêne J, Clair B, Davy D | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 24-Apr-2018 |
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| Traditional knowledge hiding in plain sight – twenty-first century ethnobotany of the Chácobo in Beni, Bolivia | Paniagua Zambrana NY, Bussmann RW, Hart RE, Moya Huanca AL, Ortiz Soria G, Ortiz Vaca M, Ortiz Álvarez D, Soria Morán J, Soria Morán M, Chávez S, Chávez Moreno B, Chávez Moreno G, Roca O, Siripi E | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 10-Oct-2017 |
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| Alkaloids of <i>Aspidosperma excelsum Benth</i>. | P. R. Benoin, R. H. Burnell, J. D. Medina | Canadian Science Publishing | 23-Apr-2011 |
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| Alkaloid Studies. XXXIX.<sup>1</sup> The Occurrence of Dihydrocorynantheol and Aricine in Aspidosperma marcgravianum Woodson | B. Gilbert, L. D. Antonaccio, Carl Djerassi | American Chemical Society (ACS) | 29-May-2007 |
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| Aspidosperma de Guyane: Alcaloïdes de Aspidosperma marcgravianum | G. M. T. Robert, A. Ahond, C. Poupat, P. Potier, C. Jollès, A. Jousselin, H. Jacquemin | American Chemical Society (ACS) | 17-Mar-2005 |
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| Alkaloid studies—LVIII | R.R. Arndt, S.H. Brown, N.C. Ling, P. Roller, Carl Djerassi, J.M. Ferreira, F.B. Gilbert, Edson C. Miranda, S.E. Flores, Apparicio P. Duarte, E.P. Carrazzoni | Elsevier BV | 25-Jul-2002 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |