Mitzeerie
Fresh leaves of Bridelia micrantha from Amanzimtoti, South Africa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Phyllanthaceae
Genus: Bridelia
Species:
B. micrantha
Binomial name
Bridelia micrantha
Synonyms[3]
  • Candelabria micrantha Hochst. (basionym)
  • Bridelia micrantha var. genuina Müll.Arg. (nom. inval.)

Bridelia micrantha, the mitzeeri or the coastal golden-leaf, is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae 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 and Príncipe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Africa (in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga; and Eswatini);[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. ↑ Rivers, M.C.; Barstow, M.; Mark, J. (2017). "Bridelia micrantha". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T61956569A61956571. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61956569A61956571.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ↑  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.
  3. ↑ Synonymy for Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill. at Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  4. ↑ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 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. 1 2 3 "Bridelia micrantha". Flora of Zimbabwe. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Bridelia micrantha". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Bridelia micrantha". www.plantzafrica.com. Retrieved 2 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. 1 2 James A. Duke. "Bridelia micrantha (EUPHORBIACEAE)". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
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