''Antiaris toxicaria'' is a tree in the mulberry and fig family,
Moraceae
The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...
. It is the only species currently recognized in the genus ''Antiaris''. The genus ''Antiaris'' was at one time considered to consist of several species, but is now regarded as just one variable species which can be further divided into five subspecies. One significant difference within the species is that the size of the fruit decreases as one travels from Africa to Polynesia.
Antiaris has a remarkably wide distribution in tropical regions, occurring in
Australia, tropical
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, tropical
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
, and various other tropical islands. Its seeds are spread by various birds and bats, and it is not clear how many of the populations are essentially invasive. The species is of interest as a source of wood, bark cloth, and pharmacological or toxic substances.
Naming and etymology
The generic epithet ''Antiaris'' is derived directly from the
Javanese name for it: ''ancar''
[Heyne, K. (1987). ''Tumbuhan Berguna Indonesia'', vol. 2: 684-685. Yayasan Sarana Wana Jaya, Jakarta.] (obsolete Dutch-era spelling: ''antjar'').
[Kochummen, K.M. (1978). Moraceae. In Ng, F.S.P. (ed.) ''Tree Flora of Malaya'' vol. 3: 120. Longman.]
Some of the better known synonyms include: ''Antiaris africana Engl.'', ''Antiaris macrophylla R.Br.'' and ''Antiaris welwitschii Engl.''.
![Antia toxi 101009-7193 mp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Antia_toxi_101009-7193_mp.jpg)
In
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
it may be called bark cloth tree, antiaris, false iroko, false mvule or upas tree, and in the
Javanese language
Javanese (, , ; , Aksara Jawa: , Pegon: , IPA: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the nort ...
it is known as the ''upas'' or ''ancar''. In the
Indonesian language
Indonesian ( ) is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries. Indonesia ...
it is known as ''bemu''. In the related official language of the Philippines,
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
, ''upas'', and in Malaysia's
Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
language as ''Ipoh'' or ''ancar''. In Thai it is the ยางน่อง (yangnong). In
Mandinka, it is the ''jafo'' and in
Wolof
Wolof or Wollof may refer to:
* Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania
* Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania
* The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...
the ''kan'' or ''man''. In Coastal Kenya, it is called ''mnguonguo'' by the
Giriama
The Giriama (also called Giryama) are one of the nine ethnic groups that make up the Mijikenda (which literally translates to "nine towns").
The Mijikenda occupy the coastal strip extending from Lamu in the north to the Kenya/Tanzania border i ...
.
The Chinese of
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
Island, refer to the tree as the "Poison Arrow Tree" ( — "Arrow Poison Wood,") because its latex was smeared on arrowheads in ancient times by the
Li people for use in hunting and warfare.
Taxonomy
Currently one species of ''Antiaris'' is formally accepted, namely ''Antiaris toxicaria'',
with about twenty synonyms recorded and rejected as invalid. The status of other species still is unresolved, namely ''
Antiaris turbinifera
''Antiaris toxicaria'' is a tree in the mulberry and fig family, Moraceae. It is the only species currently recognized in the genus ''Antiaris''. The genus ''Antiaris'' was at one time considered to consist of several species, but is now regarded ...
''. However, given the wide range of the genus, it is quite likely that investigations under way will lead to the establishment of new species. Some varieties and subspecies are already established, pending further investigation. At present the accepted taxonomy is as follows:
*''Antiaris toxicaria''
Lesch.
*''Antiaris toxicaria'' subsp. '' africana ''
(Engl.) C.C.Berg
*''Antiaris toxicaria'' subsp. '' humbertii ''
(Leandri) C.C.Berg
*''Antiaris toxicaria'' subsp. '' macrophylla ''
(R.Br.) C.C.Berg
*''Antiaris toxicaria'' subsp. '' madagascariensis ''
(H.Perrier) C.C.Berg
*''Antiaris toxicaria'' var. '' usambarensis ''
(Engl.) C.C.Berg
*''Antiaris toxicaria'' subsp. '' welwitschii ''
(Engl.) C.C.Berg
*''
Antiaris turbinifera
''Antiaris toxicaria'' is a tree in the mulberry and fig family, Moraceae. It is the only species currently recognized in the genus ''Antiaris''. The genus ''Antiaris'' was at one time considered to consist of several species, but is now regarded ...
''
Hemsl. (unresolved)
Characteristics
![Antiaris toxicaria Lesch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Antiaris_toxicaria_Lesch._%288365314632%29.jpg)
''Antiaris toxicaria'' is
monoecious. It is a large tree, growing to 25–40 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter, often buttressed at the base, with pale grey bark. The trees have milky to watery latex.
The
leaves are elliptic to obovate, 7–19 cm long and 3–6 cm broad.
The African tree bears larger fruit than Asian and Polynesian populations. The Indonesian ''Antiaris toxicaria'' flowers in June. In
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
peak seeding time is March. The edible
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
is a red or purple
drupe 2 cm in diameter, with a single seed.
The tree grows rapidly and attains maturity within 20 years. It is classified by Hawthorne W.D. as a non-pioneer light demanding tree.
Distribution
The ''Antiaris'' tree is found in grassy
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
and coastal plateaus. In
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, there are three varieties clearly distinguished by habitat and their juvenile forms. One is confined mainly to wooded grassland, the other two are found in wet forests;
rainforest,
riverine forest and semi-swamp forests.
It generally does not grow at altitudes above some 1500 metres above sea-level.
[''Timber trees: lesser known species'' Sosef MSM, Hong LT, Prawirohatmodjo S. (eds.) PROSEA 5(3). Backhuys Publishers, Leiden: 1998]
Uses
''Antiaris toxicaria'' is a fairly small-scale source of timber and yields a lightweight hardwood with density of 250–540 kilogram per cubic metre (similar to
balsa
''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...
). As the wood peels very easily and evenly, it is commonly used for
veneer.
The bark has a high concentration of
tannin
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'' ...
s that are used in traditional clothes
dyeing
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular c ...
and paints.
The seed from the fruit, which is a soft and edible red or purple drupe 2 cm in diameter, is dispersed by birds,
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s,
possums
Possum may refer to:
Animals
* Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi
** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...
monkeys,
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
,
antelopes
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammal ...
and
humans
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
.
In Africa and
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
the
bast fibre
Bast fibre (also called phloem fibre or skin fibre) is plant fibre collected from the phloem (the "inner bark", sometimes called "skin") or bast surrounding the stem of certain dicotyledonous plants. It supports the conductive cells of the phl ...
is harvested and is used in preparing strong, coarse bark cloth for clothing. The clothes often are decorated with the
dye produced from the bark
tannin
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'' ...
s.
''Antiaris toxicaria'' is an excellent, fast-growing shade tree and often is grown around human dwellings for shade. The leaf litter is an excellent compost material and high in nutrients. It often is applied as mulch or green manure in local gardens, which however, must be grown beyond the shade of the extremely dense
canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...
of the tree.
Recently, the plant had allegedly been used by retired Tanzanian pastor
Ambilikile Mwasapile to allegedly cure all manner of diseases, including HIV/AIDS, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, asthma, and others. While found to be harmless to humans when boiled in accordance with Mwasapile's mode of creating a medicinal drink out of the bark, it allegedly was undergoing testing by the WHO and Tanzanian health authorities to verify whether it has any medicinal value. However, conflicting reports suggest that the plant in question is not in fact ''Antiaris'', but rather ''
Carissa edulis''.
Poison
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bamboe pijlkoker met blaasroerpijlen en vergifbakje TMnr A-2953](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Bamboe_pijlkoker_met_blaasroerpijlen_en_vergifbakje_TMnr_A-2953.jpg)
The
latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...
of ''Antiaris toxicaria'' contains intensely toxic
cardenolides
A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain derivatives, collectively known as cardenolides, including many in the form of cardenolide glycosides (cardenolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Cardenolide glycoside ...
, in particular a
cardiac glycoside
Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for c ...
named
antiarin
Antiarins are cardiac glycoside poisons produced by the upas tree (''Antiaris toxicaria''). There are two forms, α-antiarin and β-antiarin.
β-Antiarin
β-Antiarin, a cardiac glycoside steroid, can be isolated from upas tree latex (''Antiari ...
. It is used as a toxin for
arrows,
darts
Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard.
Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...
, and
blowdarts
A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple ranged weapon consisting of a long narrow tube for shooting light projectiles such as dart (missile), darts. It operates by having the projectile placed inside the pipe and using the fo ...
in
Island Southeast Asian cultures. In various ethnic groups of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...
,
Sulawesi and
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
the concentrated sap of ''Antiaris toxicaria'' is known as ''upas'', ''apo'', or ''ipoh'', among other names. The concentrate is applied (by dipping) to darts used in
sumpit blowguns employed for hunting and warfare.
In
Javanese tradition in Indonesia, ''Antiaris toxicaria'' (also known as ''upas'') is mixed with ''
Strychnos ignatii'' for
arrow poison
Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...
.
In China, this plant is known as "arrow poison wood" and the poison is said to be so deadly that it has been described as "Seven Up Eight Down Nine Death" meaning that a victim can take no more than seven steps uphill, eight steps downhill or nine steps on level ground before dying. Some travellers' tales have it that the Upas tree is the most poisonous in the world, so that no one can reach the trunk before falling down dead.
![Upas Tree - Antiaris toxicaria - 1887 Illustration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Upas_Tree_-_Antiaris_toxicaria_-_1887_Illustration.jpg)
Another account (professedly by one Foersch, who was a surgeon at
Semarang in 1773) was published in ''
The London Magazine
''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics.
1732–1785
''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...
'', December 1783, and popularized by
Erasmus Darwin in ''
Loves of the Plants'' (Botanic Garden, pt. ii). The tree was said to destroy all animal life within a radius of 15 miles or more. The poison was fetched by condemned malefactors, of whom scarcely two out of twenty returned. In fact, the deaths were due to an adjoining
extinct volcano near Batar, called Guava Upas. Due to confusion of names, the poisonous effects of the deadly valley have been ascribed to the Upas tree.
Literary allusions to the tree's poisonous nature are frequent and as a rule are not to be taken seriously.
A poem that has been frequently commented on and set to music is "The Upas-Tree" by
Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
.
Poem Hunter
/ref>
One of the heroes of Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
's novel ''The Magic Mountain
''The Magic Mountain'' (german: Der Zauberberg, links=no, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in German in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature.
Mann s ...
'' written in 1924 mentioned this tree in the context "The knowledge of drugs possessed by the coloured races was far superior to our own. In certain islands east of Dutch New Guinea
Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingd ...
, youths and maidens prepared a love charm from the bark of a tree—it was probably poisonous, like the manzanilla tree, or the antiaris toxicaria the deadly upas tree of Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
, which could poison the air round with its steam and fatally stupefy man and beast".
Literature
* Berg, C.C., 1977. Revisions of African Moraceae (excluding Dorstenia, Ficus, Musanga and Myrianthus). ''Bulletin du Jardin Botanique National de Belgique, 47'': 267–407.
* Bisset, N.G., 1962. Cardiac glycosides: Part VI. Moraceae: The genus Antiaris Lesch. ''Planta Medica, 10'': 143–151.
* Boer, E. & Sosef, M.S.M., 1998. Antiaris Lesch. In: Sosef, M.S.M., Hong, L.T. & Prawirohatmodjo, S. (Editors): ''Plant Resources of South-East Asia,5''(3). Timber trees: Lesser-known timbers. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, the Netherlands. pp. 73–75.
* Browne, F.G., 1955. ''Forest trees of Sarawak and Brunei and their products.'' Government Printing Office, Kuching, Malaysia. pp. 348–349.
* Burkill, I.H., 1966. ''A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula.'' Revised reprint volume 1 (A-H). Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. pp. 175–185.
* Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948. ''The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products.'' Volume 1. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India. pp. 83–84.
* Dolder, F., Tamm, C. & Reichstein, T., 1955. Die Glykoside von Antiaris toxicaria Lesch. Glykoside und Aglycone, 150 lycosides of Antiaris toxicaria Lesch. Glycoside and aglycones, 150 ''Helvetica Chimica Acta, 38''(6): 1364–1396.
* Hano, Y., Mitsui, P. & Nomura, T., 1990. Seven prenylphenols, antiarones C, D, E, F, G, H and I from the root bark of Antiaris toxicaria Lesch. Heterocycles 31(7): 1315–1324.
* Pételot, A., 1954. ''Les plantes médicinales du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam.'' he medicinal plants of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Vol. 3. Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques et Techniques, Saigon, Vietnam. pp. 126–127.
* Quisumbing, E., 1978. ''Medicinal plants of the Philippines.'' Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. pp. 224–226.
Notes
References
Flora of China: ''Antiaris toxicaria''
PubMed: Studies on the Indonesian Antiaris toxicaria sap (abstract)
*''Hot and cold soaking treatment of twenty wood species from Irian Jaya'',Abdurrohim S and Martawijaya A. Jurnal Penelitian Hasil Hutan Indonesia: 1987. 4(3): 1–9.
*''Flora of West Tropical Africa.'' Hutchinson J and Dalziel JM. Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administration: London 1958. 2nd Ed., Vol. 1(2), .
*''Analysis of some Malaysian dart poisons'', Kopp B, Bauer WP and Bernkop-Schnurch A, Journal of Ethnopharmacology: . 1992. 36(1): 57–62.
*''Timber trees: lesser known species'' Sosef MSM, Hong LT, Prawirohatmodjo S. (eds.) PROSEA 5(3). Backhuys Publishers, Leiden: 1998
*''A pocket directory of trees and seeds in Kenya'', Teel W. KENGO, Nairobi: 1984
*''Studies on the Indonesian Antiaris Toxicaria Sap'', Fujimoto Yukio, Suzuki Yuko, Kanaiwa Takao, Amiya Takashi, Hoshi Katsuji, Fujino Sumiko, "Journal of pharmacobio-dynamics", 6 (2), The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan: 19830200: pp 128–135
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q3314750, from2=Q2392155
Medicinal plants of Africa
Medicinal plants of Asia
Medicinal plants of Oceania
Monotypic Rosales genera
Moraceae
Moraceae genera
Poisonous plants