Paubrasilia

This article is about the brazilwood tree. For the unrelated tree that yields Brazil nuts, see Brazil nut.

Paubrasilia echinata
An adult specimen in a park in Florianópolis, Brazil.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Paubrasilia
(Gagnon, H.C.Lima & G.P.Lewis 2016)
Species:
P. echinata
Binomial name
Paubrasilia echinata
((Lam.) Gagnon, H.C.Lima & G.P.Lewis 2016) [2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Caesalpinia echinata Lam. 1785
  • Guilandina echinata Spreng. 1825

Paubrasilia echinata is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.[4][5] It is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Pernambuco wood or brazilwood[6] (Portuguese: pau-de-pernambuco, pau-brasil;[6] Tupi: ybyrapytanga[7]) and is the national tree of Brazil.[5] This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for stringed instruments.[5][8] The wood also yields a historically important red dye called brazilin, which oxidizes to brazilein.[9]

The name pau-brasil was applied to certain species of the genus Caesalpinia in the medieval period, and was given its original scientific name Caesalpinia echinata in 1785 by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.[3] More recent taxonomic studies have suggested that it merits recognition as a separate genus, and it was thus renamed Paubrasilia echinata in 2016.[3] The Latin specific epithet of echinata refers to hedgehog, from echinus, and describes the thorns which cover all parts of the tree (including the fruits).[10]

The name of Brazil is a shortened form of Terra do Brasil, 'land of brazilwood'.[11]

  1. ^ Varty, N. (1998). "Paubrasilia echinata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T33974A9818224. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T33974A9818224.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Paubrasilia echinata". Flora do Brasil 2020 - Algae, Fungi and Plants. Institute of Research Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Gagnon, Edeline; Bruneau, Anne; Hughes, Colin E.; Paganucci de Queiroz, Luciano; Lewis, Gwilym P. (2016-10-12). "A new generic system for the pantropical Caesalpinia group (Leguminosae)". PhytoKeys (71): 1–160. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.71.9203. ISSN 1314-2003. PMC 5558824. PMID 28814915.
  4. ^ The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (2017). "A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny". Taxon. 66 (1): 44–77. doi:10.12705/661.3. hdl:10568/90658.
  5. ^ a b c Lichtenberg, Silke; Huber-Sannwald, Elisabeth; Nehren, Udo; Reyes-Agüero, Juan Antonio (2019). "Use and Conservation of the Threatened Brazilian National Tree Paubrasilia echinata Lam.: A Potential for Rio de Janeiro State?". Strategies and Tools for a Sustainable Rural Rio de Janeiro. Springer Series on Environmental Management. pp. 205–219. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-89644-1_14. ISBN 978-3-319-89643-4. ISSN 0172-6161. S2CID 134437366.
  6. ^ a b "Paubrasilia echinata". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  7. ^ Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (2013). Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil (in Portuguese) (1 ed.). São Paulo: Global. p. 522. ISBN 9788526019331.
  8. ^ Alves, Edenise Segala; Longui, Eduardo Luiz; Amano, Erika (2008). "Pernambuco Wood (Caesalpinia Echinata) used in the Manufacture of Bows for String Instruments". IAWA Journal. 29 (3): 323–335. doi:10.1163/22941932-90000190. ISSN 0928-1541.
  9. ^ Dapson, RW; Bain, CL (2015). "Brazilwood, sappanwood, brazilin and the red dye brazilein: from textile dyeing and folk medicine to biological staining and musical instruments". Biotech Histochem. 90 (6): 401–23. doi:10.3109/10520295.2015.1021381. PMID 25893688.
  10. ^ Stearn, William (2004). Botanical Latin. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. ISBN 9780881926279.
  11. ^ "Brazilwood: A Brief History". University of Minnesota Libraries. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 2019-09-16.