''Wimmeria mexicana'' is a large

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

or small

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 ...

, often reaching in height, that is common in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

and in regions of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, including the states of

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

, Chihuahua, and central to eastern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

. It is commonly called papelío and algodoncillo.Felger, Johnson, & Wilson, p. 133

Description

The branches and trunk, in diameter, are erect to ascending, making it more tall than wide. Large, flaky, papery, gray plates cover its smooth, white bark. Young twigs, petioles, and flower

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

s sometimes have short, tiny hairs, but are mostly glabrous. The

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

is spread out and sparse. The leaves,

exstipulate In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

and 2–6 cm in length, alternate and vary in

shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...

between lanceolate, elliptic, and obovate. Flowers tend to be 7.5–8 mm wide, white to cream colored, bisexual, with 5 petals on 5

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s, and

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

in axillary cyme. The fruits, 1–1.4 cm across, are papery, one-seeded, three-lobed

samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

s, similar to species of ''

Dodonaea ''Dodonaea'' is a genus of about 70 species of flowering plants, often known as hop-bushes, in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, so ...

''. ''Wimmeria mexicana'' mass flowers around July to October, or often after heavy Autumn rain, attracting a large number of insects, particularly

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s and

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

. The leaves have serrated edges due to insects.

Uses

Wood from the tree is commonly used to make fence posts, house beams, and firelogs. Also, the Guarijío prepare

herbal tea Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...

, ''malo en el cuerpo'' (pain in the body), from ''W. mexicana'',

chamomile Chamomile (American English) or camomile (British English; see spelling differences) ( or ) is the common name for several plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species, ''Matricaria recutita'' and ''Anthemis nobilis'', are commonly us ...

, and

cilantro Coriander (;

Taxonomy

''Wimmeria confusa'', a synonym of ''W. mexicana'', was so named because it had been previously confused with ''

Wimmeria concolor ''Wimmeria'' is a genus of shrubs to small trees in the family Celastraceae. It is named after German botanist Christian Friedrich Heinrich Wimmer (1803–1868). Species :''This list may be incomplete.'' * '' Wimmeria acapulcensis'' Lundell ...

'' and was so figured in William Hooker's ''Icones Plantarum''. ''W. confusa'' was named by William Hemsley in 1878, based on a plant collected by Karl Hartweg. The same year, Ludwig Radlkofer described ''W. pallida'', based on the same Hartweg specimen as well as specimens collected by

Thaddäus Haenke Thaddeus Xaverius Peregrinus Haenke (5 October 1761 – 4 November 1816) ( cs, Tadeáš Haenke; es, Tadeo Haenke) was a botanist who participated in the Malaspina Expedition, exploring a significant portion of the Pacific basin including the c ...

(perhaps in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

) and

Frederik Liebmann Frederik Michael Liebmann (10 October 1813 – 29 October 1856) was a Danish botanist. Liebmann studied botany at the University of Copenhagen, although he never obtained a formal qualification. He went on study tours of Germany and Norway before b ...

. This was confusingly also called ''W. confusa'' in ''Biologia Centrali-Americana''.''Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium'', p. 130

References

* *

External links

* *
''Wimmeria mexicana'' (Algodoncillo, Papelío)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q8023554 mexicana Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Southwestern Mexico Flora of the Southeastern United States Trees of Mexico Trees of the Southeastern United States Plants described in 1825 Taxa named by José Mariano Mociño Taxa named by Martín Sessé y Lacasta Taxa named by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle Taxa named by Cyrus Longworth Lundell