''Condalia velutina'', known as zarcigüil, zarzagüil or asebuche, is a species of thorny shrub of the
Rhamnaceae
The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales.
The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae ...
family endemic to
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 Guate ...
.
Description
The bush usually has heights from 2 to 5 meters high with primary branches of 15 to 35 centimeters in length and secondary branches of 3 to 10 centimeters and internodes of 4 to 14 millimeters. The leaves are usually 7 to 19 millimeters long and 5 to 10 millimeters wide with a midrib and 4 to 5 pairs of secondary veins. The fruit when ripe has a color that varies from intense red to light brown, one seed and a length of approximately 10 millimeters; the fruits are edible, having a bittersweet taste. The bark is often used as an oral pain reliever by making an infusion in water and rinsing the mouth with the resulting liquid.
It is usually found in soils derived from igneous rock, sharing an environment in oak forests (Quercus), thickets and grasslands. Its altitude varies between 1,800 and 2,400 meters above sea level. Its population extends in most of the states of
Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
and
Querétaro
Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities. Its capi ...
, in the south of
San Luis Potosí, north-central
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
, northeast of
Jalisco
Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...
, northwest of the State of Mexico and west of
Hidalgo
Hidalgo may refer to:
People
* Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility
* Hidalgo (surname)
Places
Mexico
* Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico
* Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila
* Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15536867
velutina
''Velutina'' is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Velutinidae.WoRMS (2009). ''Velutina'' Fleming, 1822. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2009) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: Worl ...
Endemic flora of Mexico
Plants described in 1939