Guaco, huaco, vejuco and bejuco are terms applied to various vine-like

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n, and

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

climbing plants, reputed to have curative powers. Several species in the genus ''

Mikania ''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are common ...

'' are among those referred to as guaco. Even though it is not a vine ''guaco'' is also used to refer to '' Cleome serrulata'', the Rocky Mountain beeplant. Native Americans and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

ns believe that the guaco was named after a species of

kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have ...

, in imitation of its cry, which they say it uses to attract the snakes which it feeds on. Tradition says that the plant's powers as an antidote were discovered through watching the bird eat the leaves, and even spread the juice on its wings, before attacking the snakes. Any twining plant with a heart-shaped leaf, white and green above and purple beneath, is called a guaco by Native Americans, which does not necessarily coincide with which plants are "true" guacos, as far as naturalists are concerned. What is most commonly recognized in Colombia as guaco, or vejuco del guaco, would appear to be '' Mikania guaco'', a climbing

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic material ...

plant of the tribe

Eupatorieae Eupatorieae is a Tribe (biology), tribe of over 2000D.J.N.Hind & H.E.Robinson. 2007. Tribe Eupatorieae In: ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VIII. (Joachim W.Kadereit & Charles Jeffrey, volume editors. Klaus Kubitzky, general edi ...

, preferring moist and shady situations, and having a much-branched and deep-growing root,

variegated '' Cryptocarya williwilliana'' showing leaf venation and variegated leaves Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the foliage, flowers, and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants, granting a speckled, striped, or patch ...

, serrated,

opposite leaves In botany, phyllotaxis () or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaf, leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a distinctive class of patterns in nature. Leaf arrangement The basic leaf#Arrangement on the stem, arrangements of leaves ...

and dull white flowers, in axillary clusters. The whole plant emits a disagreeable odour.

Uses

It was stated that the Central American natives, after taking guaco, catch with impunity the most dangerous snakes, which writhe in their hands as though touched by a hot iron.B. Seeman, ''Hooker's Journ. of Bot.'' v. 76, 1853. The odour alone of guaco, has been said to cause, in snakes, a state of stupor; and Humboldt, who observed that proximity of a rod steeped in guaco-juice was obnoxious to the venomous '' Coluber corallinus'', was of the opinion that inoculation with it gives perspiration an odour which makes reptiles unwilling to bite. The drug is not used in modern medicine. In Brazil, guaco (''

Mikania glomerata ''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are common ...

'') is commonly used as a medicinal tea as an expectorant and anti-inflammatory due to its compound

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

Notes

References

* {{EB1911, wstitle=Guaco, volume=12, pages=643–644 Medicinal plants Flora of Colombia Natural history of Colombia Plant common names Mikania