Schinus terebinthifolia
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ffc9a2014e704209674 |
| Scientific name | Schinus terebinthifolia |
| Authority | Raddi |
| First published in | Mem. Mat. Fis. Soc. Ital. Sci. Modena, Pt. Mem. Fis. 18: 399 (1820) |
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.
Among indigenous and rural communities of southern Brazil, Schinus terebinthifolia (Brazilian pepper) is used as an external remedy: a poultice of crushed fresh leaves is applied to wounds, bruises, and swelling to relieve pain and promote healing. In northern and northeastern Brazil, a decoction of the leaves is also taken as a stomachic to calm colic and relieve gastrointestinal complaints. In the Amazon, healers prepare a macerated leaf infusion in water or alcohol to wash ulcerated skin lesions; this use has been described by ethnobotanists documenting Guajará-Mirim and related Kayapó practices. These topical and internal leaf-based preparations are recorded in the classic Brazilian ethnopharmacology synthesis by Mors et al., 2000 and in the ethnoherpetological study by Albuquerque and Borges, 2010, among others.
For a standard leaf tea used as a mild stomachic, measure about 10–15 grams of dried leaf fragments. Simmer them in 500 milliliters of water for 8–10 minutes, then strain and drink up to one cup a few times a day until symptoms improve. If preferred as a wash for skin lesions, prepare a stronger decoction with 20 grams dried leaves in 1 liter of water, cool, and apply topically with a clean cloth. Do not drink large amounts or use in pregnancy; as with many botanicals, the fruit and leaves can be irritating to the digestive tract and, in sensitive individuals, to the skin, and safety during lactation is not established.
Well-established leaf constituents that plausibly underpin the traditional activity include sesquiterpene lactones (e.g., mimicopsinolide and related compounds), flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol glycosides, and tannins. These groups are known to contribute to anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and astringent effects, matching the way the leaf poultice is used on wounds and the way the decoction is used to soothe gastrointestinal distress. Phytochemical work in recent decades has documented these classes in Schinus terebinthifolia leaves and fruits.
Modern relevance: in vitro and in vivo studies continue to explore the leaf’s anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, while dried leaves remain widely available in Brazilian phytotherapy markets as “folhas de aroeira” and are still used topically and as a gentle internal tonic according to Mors et al., 2000.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
- Dried fruits (called pink peppercorns) are used as a culinary spice and garnish; they are traded whole and ground and function as a flavoring agent in foods.
- The species’ essential oil, distilled from fruit/leaves, is used as a flavoring in food and beverages (non-medicinal).
Fragrance and cosmetics:
- Essential oil (primarily α-phellandrene; also p-cymene, limonene) is used in fragrance formulations, typically as a top note. IFRA guidelines apply to fragrance usage of this oil.
- Trace colorations derived from plant parts may occur in some natural cosmetic colorants, but the main use is as a fragrance material rather than a dye.
Properties relevant to use:
- Essential oil profile (α-phellandrene-rich) confers citrus–peppery notes used in flavor and fragrance.
- Fruit composition and oil content underpin flavoring applications.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Rhus heptaphylla | Hiern | Cat. Afr. Pl. (Hiern) 1(1): 185. 1896 |
| Rhus schinoides | Willd. ex Schult. | Syst. Veg., ed. 15 bis 6: 649 (1820) |
| Rhus trijuga | Poir. | Encycl. 7: 506 (1806) |
| Schinus aroeira | Vell. | Fl. Flumin. 10: t. 135 (1831) |
| Schinus mucronulata | Mart. | Syst. Mat. Med. Bras. : 52 (1843) |
| Schinus terebinthifolius var. glaziovianus | Engl. | Fl. Bras. 12(2): 384 (1876) |
| Schinus terebinthifolia var. rhoifolia | (Mart.) Engl. | Fl. Bras. 12(2): 384 (1876) |
| Schinus terebinthifolius var. pohlianus | Engl. | Fl. Bras. 12(2): 384 (1876) |
| Schinus mucronulatus | Mart. | Syst. Mat. Med. Bras. : 52 (1843) |
| Sarcotheca bahiensis | Turcz. | Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 31(1): 474. 1858 |
| Schinus terebinthifolius var. raddianus | Engl. | Fl. Bras. 12(2): 384 (1876) |
| Schinus chichita | Speg. | Anales Soc. Ci. Argent. 16: 96 (1883) |
| Schinus terebinthifolius var. damazianus | Beauverd | Bull. Herb. Boissier , sér. 2, 5: 405 (1905) |
| Schinus terebinthifolius var. selloanus | Engl. | Fl. Bras. 12(2): 384 (1876) |
| Schinus mellisii | Engl. | Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 423 (1881) |
| Lithraea chichita | Speg. | Anales Soc. Rural Argent. 1910: 395 (1910) |
| Schinus rhoifolia | Mart. | Flora 20(2 Beibl.): 101 (1847) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | broadleaved pepper tree |
| English | aroeira |
| English | rose pepper |
| English | brazilian peppertree |
| English | wilelaiki |
| English | christmasberry tree |
| English | wililaiki |
| English | brazilian pepper tree |
| English | florida holly |
| Spanish | turbinto |
| Spanish | aroeira |
| Afrikaans | brasiliaanse peperboom |
| Arabic | فلفل برازيلي |
| Arabic | فلفل عريض الأوراق |
| Azerbaijani | püstəyarpaq şinus |
| Bulgarian | Розов пипер |
| Catalan | aroeira |
| Catalan | pebre del brasil |
| Catalan | pebroter brasiler |
| Catalan | pebrer del brasil |
| German | brasilianischer pfefferbaum |
| Esperanto | brazila piproarbo |
| Persian | فلفل برزیلی |
| Finnish | brasilianroseepippuri |
| Hebrew | פלפלון דמוי-אלה |
| Hebrew | פלפלון דמוי אלה |
| Japanese | サンショウモドキ |
| Korean | 브라질페퍼나무 |
| Norwegian Bokmål | brasiliansk peppertre |
| Norwegian Bokmål | rosa pepper |
| Dutch | roze peper |
| Portuguese | aroeira-vermelha |
| Russian | Шинус фисташколистный |
| Russian | Перец бразильский |
| Russian | Бразильский перец |
| Swedish | brasilianskt pepparträd |
| Thai | มะตูมซาอุ |
| Chinese | 巴西乳香 |
| Chinese | 巴西清香木 |
| Chinese | 巴西青香木 |
| Chinese | 巴西胡椒木 |
| Chinese | 巴西肖乳香 |
Varieties (abbr. var.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Schinus terebinthifolia var. terebinthifolia | ||
| Schinus terebinthifolius var. acutifolius | Engl. | Fl. Bras. 12(2): 384 (1876) |
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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Africa click to expand
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Macaronesia
- Canary Islands
- Cape Verde
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Middle Atlantic Ocean
- Ascension
- Saint Helena
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Northern Africa
- Algeria
- Libya
- Morocco
- Tunisia
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South Tropical Africa
- Angola
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Southern Africa
- Botswana
- Cape Provinces
- Kwazulu-Natal
- Northern Provinces
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West Tropical Africa
- Benin
- Guinea
- Senegal
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Western Indian Ocean
- Mauritius
- Rodrigues
- Réunion
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Macaronesia
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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Eastern Asia
- Ogasawara-Shoto
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Western Asia
- Palestine
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Eastern Asia
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Asia-tropical click to expand
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Indo-China
- Vietnam
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Indo-China
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Australasia click to expand
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Australia
- New South Wales
- Norfolk Island
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- Western Australia
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Australia
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Europe click to expand
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Southwestern Europe
- Portugal
- Spain
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Southwestern Europe
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Northern America click to expand
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Mexico
- Mexico Northwest
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South-central U.S.A.
- Texas
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Southeastern U.S.A.
- Alabama
- Florida
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Southwestern U.S.A.
- California
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Mexico
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Pacific click to expand
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North-central Pacific
- Hawaii
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Northwestern Pacific
- Marianas
- Marshall Islands
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Southwestern Pacific
- New Caledonia
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North-central Pacific
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Southern America click to expand
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Brazil
- Brazil Northeast
- Brazil South
- Brazil Southeast
- Brazil West-central
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Caribbean
- Bahamas
- Bermuda
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Puerto Rico
- Trinidad-Tobago
- Turks-caicos Islands
- Venezuelan Antilles
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Central America
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
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Southern South America
- Argentina Northeast
- Paraguay
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Western South America
- Bolivia
- Colombia
- Ecuador
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Brazil
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000435152 |
| UNII | X6763LQ3TQ |
| Florida Plant Atlas | 52 |
| Flora of Alabama | 306 |
| USDA Plants | SCTE |
| Tropicos | 1300216 |
| INPN | 121505 |
| Flora of Italy | 9467 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:71069-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-2480191 |
| Missouri Botanical Garden | 275940 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 132434 |
| Observations.org | 147469 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 169191 |
| Nature Serve | 2.147002 |
| IPNI | 71069-1 |
| iNaturalist | 78993 |
| GBIF | 3660419 |
| Freebase | /m/06pc2k |
| FEIS | plants/shrub/schter |
| EPPO | SCITE |
| EOL | 5636612 |
| Elurikkus | 7139 |
| Calflora (Californian flora) | 7379 |
| US Library of Congress | sh00002652 |
| USDA GRIN | 70672 |
| Wikipedia | Schinus_terebinthifolia |
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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| Pest categorisation of Pyrrhoderma noxium | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Golic D, Gobbi A, Maiorano A, Pautasso M, Reignault PL | EFSA J | 19-Mar-2024 |
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| Influence of sample preparation methods on FTIR spectra for taxonomic identification of tropical trees in the Atlantic forest | Cubas Pereira D, Pupin B, de Simone Borma L | Heliyon | 27-Feb-2024 |
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| Ethnobotanical contributions to global fishing communities: a review | Mendoza JN, Hanazaki N, Prūse B, Martini A, Bittner MV, Kochalski S, Macusi E, Ciriaco A, Mattalia G, Sõukand R | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 02-Dec-2023 |
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| Do Native and Alien Species Differ in Their Ecological Strategies? A Test with Woody Plants in Tropical Rainforests on Réunion Island (Mascarene Archipelago, Indian Ocean) | Heymans L, Meyer JY, Ah-Peng C, Ethève Q, Flores O, Lavergne C, Mallet B, Parlevliet H, Strasberg D, Pouteau R | Plants (Basel) | 27-Nov-2023 |
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| Insecticidal and Repellent Activities of Four Essential Oils Against Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) | Fouad HA, da Câmara CA, de Moraes MM, Tavares WD, Legaspi JC, Zanuncio JC | Dose Response | 20-Nov-2023 |
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| Plant-Derived Epi-Nutraceuticals as Potential Broad-Spectrum Anti-Viral Agents | Gabbianelli R, Shahar E, de Simone G, Rucci C, Bordoni L, Feliziani G, Zhao F, Ferrati M, Maggi F, Spinozzi E, Mahajna J | Nutrients | 08-Nov-2023 |
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| Participatory ethnobotany: comparison between two quilombos in the Atlantic Forest, Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil | Sauini T, Henrique Gonçalves Santos P, Paulino Albuquerque U, Yazbek P, da Cruz C, Hortal Pereira Barretto E, Alice dos Santos M, Silva Gomes MA, dos Santos G, Braga S, José Francischetti Garcia R, Honda S, Matta P, Aragaki S, Ueno A, Rodrigues E | PeerJ | 07-Nov-2023 |
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| Patterns of use of wild food plants by Brazilian local communities: systematic review and meta-analysis | Gomes LC, Medeiros PM, Prata AP | J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | 25-Oct-2023 |
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| Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Brazilian pepper) leaves extract: in vitro and in vivo evidence of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties | da Silva Nascimento M, dos Santos PH, de Abreu FF, Shan AY, Amaral RG, Andrade LN, Souto EB, Santos MI, de Souza Graça A, Souza JB, Raimundo e Silva JP, Tavares JF, de Oliveira e Silva AM, Correa CB, Montalvão MM, Piacente S, Pizza C, Camargo EA, dos Santos Estevam C | Inflammopharmacology | 28-Aug-2023 |
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| Back to Nature: Medicinal Plants as Promising Sources for Antibacterial Drugs in the Post-Antibiotic Era | Abdallah EM, Alhatlani BY, de Paula Menezes R, Martins CH | Plants (Basel) | 28-Aug-2023 |
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| Potent Antifungal Activity of Penta-O-galloyl-β-d-Glucose against Drug-Resistant Candida albicans, Candida auris, and Other Non-albicans Candida Species | Marquez L, Lee Y, Duncan D, Whitesell L, Cowen LE, Quave C | ACS Infect Dis | 22-Aug-2023 |
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| Natural Oils Enhance the Topical Delivery of Ketoconazole by Nanoemulgel for Fungal Infections | Ahmad I, Farheen M, Kukreti A, Afzal O, Akhter MH, Chitme H, Visht S, Altamimi AS, Alossaimi MA, Alsulami ER, Jaremko M, Emwas AH | ACS Omega | 26-Jul-2023 |
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| Recent Advances in the Discovery of Plant-Derived Antimicrobial Natural Products to Combat Antimicrobial Resistant Pathogens: Insights from 2018–2022 | Woo S, Marquez L, Crandall W, Risener C, Quave CL | Nat Prod Rep | 19-Jul-2023 |
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| Seasonality, Composition, and Antioxidant Capacity of Limonene/δ-3-Carene/(E)-Caryophyllene Schinus terebinthifolia Essential Oil Chemotype from the Brazilian Amazon: A Chemometric Approach | Guimarães BD, Silva RC, Andrade EH, Setzer WN, da Silva JK, Figueiredo PL | Plants (Basel) | 29-Jun-2023 |
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| Underexplored and growing economic costs of invasive alien trees | Fernandez RD, Haubrock PJ, Cuthbert RN, Heringer G, Kourantidou M, Hudgins EJ, Angulo E, Diagne CA, Courchamp F, Nuñez MA | Sci Rep | 02-Jun-2023 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |