From Plant
Resources of South-East Asia No 2: Edible fruits and nuts, PROSEA
Foundation
by J. W. Hildebrand
Taxon
Cecropia peltata L.
Protologue
Syst. nat. ed. 10, 2: 1286 (1759).
Family
CECROPIACEAE
Chromosome
Numbers
2n = 28
Synonyms
Cecropia
surinamensis Miq. (1853).
Vernacular
Names
Trumpet tree (En). Indonesia: pohon daun payung (general).
Origin and
Geographic Distribution
Cecropia
peltata
is native to Central and South America, where it occurs from southern
Mexico to Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, northern Brazil and Venezuela. It
has been introduced in West and Central Africa, where it has
naturalized and spread in some areas, e.g. in Cameroon and
Côte
d'Ivoire. It was also introduced into the botanical gardens of
Singapore (1902) and Bogor (Indonesia), and has since become
naturalized and is expanding in western Java and Peninsular Malaysia.
Uses
The
sap and leaves of Cecropia
peltata
are used extensively in traditional medicine in tropical America.
Sometimes bark, roots and fruits are also applied. The acrid, bitter
and astringent sap is applied externally to treat snakebites, scorpion
stings, ulcers, warts and other skin affections. Fresh or dried leaves
are traded on the market, and used in decoctions, infusions or as a
tincture to treat asthma, bronchitis, coughs, diabetes, diarrhoea,
dysentery, fever, influenza, gonorrhoea, oedema, liver complaints,
hypertension, Parkinson's disease, nervous disorders, toothache, sore
throat, as a cardiac tonic and diuretic, and to expel the placenta
after childbirth. The use of leaves in an infusion to treat asthma and
rheumatism has been much advocated.
The wood is sometimes used,
e.g. for the manufacture of local musical instruments, insulation
board, boxes, crates, matchsticks and paper pulp. The infructescence is
edible. Young buds are eaten as a cooked vegetable. The ripe fruit is
edible.
Other Cecropia
species are also used in traditional medicine in tropical America for
similar purposes, e.g. C.
obtusifolia Bertol., the leaves of which serve to treat
diabetes and as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Properties
Proanthocyanidins and leucocyanidins have been found in Cecropia peltata,
but flavonols, flavones, ellagic acid, saponins and sapogenins seem to
be absent. Extracts of Cecropia
peltata showed cytotoxic, antibacterial and antifungal
activities. Tests with rats showed that an aqueous leaf extract of Cecropia obtusifolia
from Central America has a slight diuretic effect and distinct
antihypertensive activity, and that this species has an evident
hypoglycaemic action. A 95% ethanol extract exhibited spasmogenic
activity on guinea-pig ileum at a concentration of 0.33 ml/l. A leaf
extract of Cecropia
obtusifolia
showed substantial central nervous system depressant, analgesic and
muscle relaxant activities in different experimental models.
The
wood is very light (specific gravity 0.29—0.35), and is not
durable; it
is susceptible to termite attack, and is very perishable when in
contact with the soil. A satisfactory quality of unbleached pulp can be
obtained from the wood.
Botany
A small to
medium-sized dioecious tree up to 15(—20) m tall, often with
prop or
stilt roots; stem internodes hollow; watery sap turning blackish after
exposure to the air present in terminal branchlets. Leaves arranged
spirally, clustered at apices of branches, peltate, umbrella-shaped,
30—50(—90) cm in diameter, radially incised to at
least halfway along
the blade, with 7—10(—11) ovate, acuminate lobes;
petiole long, with
1—2 patches of dense hairs at the base; stipules large,
amplexicaul,
connate. Inflorescence a pedunculate spike clustered digitately,
initially enveloped by a closed spathe. Flowers with tubular perianth;
male flowers with 2 stamens; female flowers with a superior, 1-celled
ovary. Fruit achene-like, small, 1-seeded. Seed c. 2 mm long, brownish,
with endosperm, cotyledons flat. Seedling with epigeal germination,
first leaves lanceolate, unlobed and finely toothed.
Seedlings
show rapid growth; they may grow to over 2 m in height in one year,
occasionally up to 4 m on fertile soils in western Java. Growth in
height remains rapid for 4—5 years (up to 2 m/year), but
diameter
growth is little during this period. Trees reach maximum height after
about 10 years, and may survive for another 20 years. Trees in
plantations reached an average height of 14 m and 25 cm in diameter
after 21 years.
They may produce flowers and fruits 3—6 years
after germination, but this strongly depends on light conditions. They
can be found flowering throughout the year, but peak flowering often
occurs during the dry season. The flowers are probably wind-pollinated.
Fruits take about 4 months to ripen after emergence of the
inflorescence. The seeds are dispersed by animals, usually bats and
birds, but they are also water-dispersed. In tropical America, many Cecropia species,
including Cecropia
peltata, are associated with ants of the genus Azteca.
These aggressive ants inhabit the hollow stems, and glycogen-containing
food bodies are present in the pads of hairs at the bases of petioles.
Cecropia
comprises about 65 species and occurs from Mexico through Central
America, the West Indies and South America to Paraguay and Argentina.
The major concentration of species is in the northern Andes. Few
species have been introduced in other regions, of which Cecropia peltata is
the most important one. Cecropia
has been classified in Moraceae or Urticaceae, but is now usually
placed in the separate family Cecropiaceae, together with 2 other
Neotropical genera, the African Musanga
and Myrianthus
and the
Asian-Australian Poikilospermum.
Ecology
Many Cecropia
species are characteristic of early secondary regrowth in the forest,
and are valuable in the regeneration of forest following disturbance.
They are typically pioneer species growing in forest gaps, roadsides,
landslides and plantations. Cecropia
peltata
grows naturally under these conditions up to 1300 m altitude. In
western Java, it grows at altitudes up to 1600 m, e.g. in graveyards
and gullies. It prefers clayey or loamy soils. In Cameroon and
Côte
d'Ivoire (Africa) Cecropia
peltata has spread extensively as a pioneer species,
replacing the indigenous Musanga
cecropioides R.Br. ex Tedlie.
Silviculture
and Management
There
are about 2500 air-dried seeds per gram. Seeds require full sunlight
for successful germination. In the nursery, seeds are usually
germinated under light shade on a seedbed prepared from equal amounts
of clay, sand and filter presscake. Under full light conditions the
germination rate of seeds may be 90%. Seeds remain viable for
2—3
months on the forest floor, but for over 6 months when stored under
optimal laboratory conditions.
Under natural conditions, seedling
mortality may be extremely high (99% within the first year). In nursery
experiments, seedlings showed 45% mortality during the first 9 months;
seedlings planted out in the field when 25—60 cm tall showed
a survival
rate of up to 80%.
Genetic
Resources
In its natural area of distribution, Cecropia peltata
shows some variation in morphology and in the presence or absence of a
symbiotic relation with ants. As a pioneer species with a fairly large
area of distribution, it is not under pressure. It seems even capable
of expanding rapidly after introduction, particularly in Africa.
Prospects
Cecropia
peltata is
interesting for its medicinal properties, and also for other uses (e.g.
for pulp production). However, the prospects for South-East Asia are
unclear because it has only recently obtained a foothold there. It is
certainly capable of growing in this region, but the experiences in
tropical Africa where it seems to supersede indigenous species, at
least locally, should be a warning against introducing it
unconditionally.
Literature
Burns, R.M. &
Honkala, B.H. (Editors), 1990. Silvics of North America. 2 volumes.
Agricultural Handbook 654. US Department of Agriculture, Forest
Services, Washington DC., United States.
Jimenez-Misas, C.A.,
Hernandez, N.M.R. & Abraham, A.M.L., 1979. Biological
evaluation of
Cuban plants I. Revista Cubana de Medicina Tropical 31: 5—12.
Morton,
J.F., 1981. Atlas of medicinal plants of Middle America. Bahamas to
Yucatan. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, United States. 1420
pp.
Other
Selected Sources
Burkill,
I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay
Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-
operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp.
1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—
Z) pp. 1241—2444.
Keng, H., 1990. The concise flora of Singapore. Gymnosperms and
Dicotyledons. Singapore University Press, Singapore. 222 pp.
Perez-Guerrero,
C., Herrera, M.D., Ortiz, R., Alvarez de Sotomayor, M. &
Fernandez,
M.A., 2001. A pharmacological study of Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol.
aqueous extract. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 76(3): 279 284.
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