''Garcinia leptophylla'' is an evergreen flowering tree in the family Clusiaceae (Guttiferae). The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''leptophylla'') comes from Greek ''leptos'' (= slender, slim), and ''phyllon'' (= leaf), and refers to the plant's slender leaves.

Distribution

It is native to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, Peru, and northern Brazil.

Description

It grows to in height and the branches are glabrous and angular. The sap is yellow and the petioles measure 2–3.5 centimeters in length. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are elliptic to lanceolate in shape and are very coriaceous, and the base is attenuate or

cuneate Cuneate means "wedge-shaped", and can apply to: * Cuneate leaf, a leaf shape * Cuneate nucleus, a part of the brainstem * Cuneate fasciculus Cuneate means "wedge-shaped", and can apply to: * Cuneate leaf, a leaf shape * Cuneate nucleus, a part ...

and the

margin Margin may refer to: Physical or graphical edges *Margin (typography), the white space that surrounds the content of a page *Continental margin, the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust *Leaf ...

is entire. The flowers occur in fascicles of approximately 40 and their

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

measure 1.5–2.5 centimeters in length. They have four green petals which are lanceolate to oblanceolate in shape and measure 4–5 x 3–3.5 millimeters and have truncate bases. The fruit is smooth and is green when immature and measures 2–2.2 x 1.7–1.9 centimeters. Its

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

measures 2.7–3.5 centimeters in length. It is a

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

species but has been recorded to have some level of self-pollination.

Uses

An extract from the leaves has been proven to induce an

antinociceptive Nociception (also nocioception, from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is the Somatosensory system, sensory nervous system's process of encoding Noxious stimulus, noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an org ...

effect, and it is used in folk medicine in South America.

References

leptophylla Flora of Peru Flora of Brazil Flora of Bolivia Flora of Colombia Medicinal plants of South America Trees of the Amazon rainforest Trees of western South America Dioecious plants Plants described in 2018 Taxa named by Volker Bittrich {{rosid-tree-stub

Distribution

Description

Uses

See also

References