''Mimosa ophthalmocentra'', or ''jurema-embira'' ("red jurema"), is a tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is shrub or small tree about 3 to 5 m tall. Its blossoms come in long, narrow cylindrical spikes having yellowish white petals and a white stamen. The blossoms are sometimes found to have a pink tinge. The fruit is green, sometimes with red or purple, flat, about 8 cm long and about 1 cm wide. The trunk grows to about 20 cm in diameter. Its wood has a density of about 1.12 g/cm³ and it makes good firewood.

Traditional use

Traditionally in northeast Brazil, for cases of

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages that can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three ph ...

and

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

, a water extract (

decoction Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal-medicine systems. Dec ...

) of ''Mimosa ophthalmocentra'' is made into a drink. A handful of bark in one liter of water is used by itself or in a syrup. The solution is taken until the symptoms subside.

References

External links

Microscope slide of ''Mimosa ophthalmocentra'' wood sample (www.kew.org)''Mimosa ophthalmocentra'' herbarium specimen (NY Botanical Gardens)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6862336 ophthalmocentra Flora of Brazil Medicinal plants of South America