''Weinmannia tomentosa'', the encenillo, is a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

native of the highlands of the

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

region of

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 ...

, which belongs to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cunoniaceae Cunoniaceae is a family of 27 Genus, genera and about 335 species of woody plants in the order Oxalidales, mostly found in the tropical and wet temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere. The greatest diversity of genera are in Australia and Ta ...

. A synonym for ''Weinmannia tomentosa'' is ''Windmannia tomentosa''.''Weinmannia tomentosa''
- The International Plant Names Index

Description

It is a large () tree, with small light green leaves (), with white backside, and raquis with small wings of rhomboidal shape. alternated palmatilobulated (hand-shaped) leaves. The terminal branches are divided with thick nodes with similar shape to the human

metacarpus In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ...

. The flowers are small spicas (4–6 cm) creamy-white colored. Common names: encenillo, cáscaro, pelotillo.

Environmental position

Encenillo is one of the best adapted trees of the sub-

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

, growing between 2500–3300 meters of altitude. It is often associated with '' Dendropanax colombianus'', ''

Miconia ''Miconia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the glory bush family, Melastomataceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species are mostly shrubs and small to medium-sized trees up to 15 m tall. The generic name ...

'' spp., ''

Macleania rupestris ''Macleania'' is a genus of plants in the family Ericaceae. Description They are epiphytic or terrestrial shrubs. Alternate leaves, petiolate, coriaceous, pinnatinervias or plinervias. Subfasciculate or racemose inflorescences, axillary or termin ...

'', '' Cavendishia cordifolia'', ''

Myrsine ''Myrsine'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Myrsinaceae before this was merged into the Primulaceae. It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It con ...

'' spp. and ''

Clusia multiflora ''Clusia'' is the type genus of the plant family Clusiaceae. Comprising 300-400 species, it is native to the tropics of the Americas. The genus is named by Carl Linnaeus in honor of the botanist Carolus Clusius. The closest relatives of ''Cl ...

''. Before the colonial period, encenillo tree was one of the dominant species in the andean forests. Some similar species are: Bogotan encenillo ('' Weinmannia bogotensis''), wide-leaved encenillo (''

Weinmannia karsteniana ''Weinmannia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cunoniaceae. It is the largest genus of the family with about 150 species. It is also the most widespread genus, occurring in Central and South America including the Caribbean, Madagasc ...

''), thick-leaved encenillo ('' Weinmannia auriculifera''), round-leaved encenillo ('' Weinmannia rollotii'') and mirth encenillo ('' Weinmannia myrtifolia'').

Uses

The encenillo tree is used as source of

tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

substances for the leather industry, giving to the leather a beautiful reddish color. The wood is very appreciated in the

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industry and is used for cooking in the traditional preparation of the

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

arepa ''Arepa'' () is a type of food made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in the northern region of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in the cuis ...

References

External links

secretariadeambiente.gov: Ecosystem restoration Flora
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5405356 tomentosa Endemic flora of Colombia Flora of the Andes Trees of Colombia