''Cupania cinerea'' is a plant species in the family

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The Sapindaceae occur in temp ...

. It was described as a new species in 1843 by German botanist

Eduard Friedrich Poeppig Eduard Friedrich Poeppig (16 July 1798 – 4 September 1868) was a German botanist, zoologist and explorer. Biography Poeppig was born in Plauen, Saxony. He studied medicine and natural history at the University of Leipzig, graduating with a me ...

. The plant is native to South America (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela) and Central America (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panamá). Several

phytochemical Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poison ...

s occur in the plant, including cupacinoside, cupacinoxepin,

scopoletin Scopoletin is a coumarin. It found in the root of plants in the genus '' Scopolia'' such as '' Scopolia carniolica'' and '' Scopolia japonica'', in chicory, in ''Artemisia scoparia'', in the roots and leaves of stinging nettle ('' Urtica dioica'' ...

caryophyllene oxide Caryophyllene (), more formally (−)-β-caryophyllene, (BCP), is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that is a constituent of many essential oils, especially clove oil, the oil from the stems and flowers of ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (cloves), the ess ...

, two

bisabolene Bisabolenes are a group of closely related natural chemical compounds which are classified as sesquiterpenes. Bisabolenes are produced from farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) and are present in the essential oils of bisabol, and of a wide variety of o ...

sesquiterpene Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modifica ...

lichexanthone Lichexanthone is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as xanthones. Lichexanthone was first isolated and identified by Japanese chemists from a species of leafy lichen in the 1940s. The compound is known to occur in ma ...

, gustastatin, lupenone, betulone, 17β,21β-epoxyhopan-3-one,

taraxerol Taraxerol is a naturally-occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid. It exists in various higher plants, including ''Taraxacum officinale'' (Asteraceae), ''Alnus glutinosa'' (Betulaceae), ''Litsea dealbata'' (Lauraceae), ''Skimmia spp.'' (Rutaceae), '' ...

, and taraxerone.

References

cinerea Flora of Central America Flora of Southern America Plants described in 1843 Taxa named by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig {{Sapindales-stub