Colubrina elliptica

Colubrina elliptica, also known as mabi or soldierwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Rhamnaceae that is native to the Florida Keys, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and Venezuela.[3]

Colubrina elliptica
Leaves and fruit in Florida

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Colubrina
Species:
C. elliptica
Binomial name
Colubrina elliptica
(Sw.) Brizicky & W.L. Stern

Description

It produces fruit the size of peppercorns; when ripe, the fruits explode, shooting their seeds for several feet away and making explosions sound like rounds of musket fire, hence the name "soldierwood". It is also called "nakedwood", due to its smooth bark with peels. The tree can grow very large, with a trunk circumference as large as 33 inches, a height of 47 feet tall, and with a tree crown spread 26 feet according to the American Forests Register of Champion Trees.[4]

Ecology

This tree is recognized for its size and also for the critical ecosystem services that it provides, such as food and shelter for wildlife, its water purification abilities, and its role in absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing carbon in its wood.

Uses

Colubrina elliptica is a saponin-containing plant widely distributed in the Caribbean region, where its bark is used for the preparation of bitter beverages and in folk medicine for the treatment of skin diseases.[5] The bark and leaves of mabi are used to create mauby, a drink popular in the Caribbean.

Chemistry

In recent years, three new bitter saponins, designated mabioside A, B and C, were isolated from the bark of Colubrina elliptica and were determined to be 3-O-[alpha-JL-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-15-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl] mabiogenin, 3-O-{alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)]-beta-D-glucopyranosyl} mabiogenin and 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl] mabiogenin, respectively.[6]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group; Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) (2020). "Colubrina elliptica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T156754600A156769985. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T156754600A156769985.en. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  2. "Colubrina elliptica. NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  3. "Colubrina elliptica". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  4. Champion Tree National Register, 2020 www.americanforests.org/big-trees/soldierwood-colubria-elliptica/
  5. Morton, J. F. (1981) Atlas of Medicinal Plants of Middle America, C. C. Thomas, Illinois.
  6. New bitter saponins from the bark of Colubrina elliptica: 1H and 13C assignments by 2D NMR spectroscopy. Volume: 31, Issue: 9, Pages: 859–864


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