''Krameria cistoidea'' is a perennial shrub in the plant family

Krameriaceae ''Krameria'' is the only genus in the Krameriaceae family, of which any of the approximately 18 species are commonly known as rhatany, ratany or rattany. Rhatany is also the name given to krameria root, a botanical remedy consisting of the dried ...

. The biological action of genus members is caused by the

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian plant ...

rhataniatannic acid, which is similar to

tannic acid Tannic acid is a specific form of tannin, a type of polyphenol. Its weak acidity ( pKa around 6) is due to the numerous phenol groups in the structure. The chemical formula for commercial tannic acid is often given as C76H52O46, which correspon ...

. Members of ''Krameria'' are found across the Americas, with most native to the tropical regions. An example occurrence is in the

Cerro La Campana Cerro la Campana, the Bell mountain, is a mountain in La Campana National Park in central Chile. The Pacific and the mountain Aconcagua are visible from the summit on clear days. Due to the area's expanding human population, considerable def ...

of central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, where it is found in association with the

Chilean Wine Palm ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

, ''

Jubaea chilensis ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

''. They are perennial shrubs which act as root parasites on other plants. The flowers have glands called elaiophoresB.B. Simpson. 1982 which produce a lipid which is collected by bees of the genus ''

Centris The genus ''Centris'' contains circa 250 species of large apid bees occurring in the Neotropical and Nearctic realms, from Kansas to Argentina. Most females of these bees possess adaptations for carrying floral oils rather than (or in addition ...

'' as they pollinate the flowers.

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* ''Jepson Manual''. 1993
University of California Press, Berkeley, Ca.
* B.B. Simpson. 1982. ''Krameria'' (Krameriaceae) flowers: Orientation and elaiophore morphology. ''Taxon'' 31:3 517–528

Line notes

cistoidea Plants described in 1830 {{rosid-stub