''Guiera'' is a flowering plant genus in the family

Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, G ...

. ''Guiera senegalensis'' is the only known species in the genus, found in Tropical Africa in dry areas from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

(requiring much sunlight and light dry soil). The plant produces the

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

3,4,5-Tri-O-galloylquinic acid and several

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s of the harmane family.

Uses

The plant as a whole is often decorative, however the leaves are known as a medicinal 'cure-all' in Africa: It is known for being hypotensive, antidiarrhetic, anti-inflammatory, and helpful for coughs. Its bark yields a marketable gum; its branches are used for baskets, framework, and fences; its roots for toothpicks; and its smoke repels flies.

Ecology

Guiera is a

pioneer species Pioneer species are resilient species that are the first to colonize barren environments, or to repopulate disrupted biodiverse steady-state ecosystems as part of ecological succession. Various kinds of events can create good conditions for pi ...

, spread via animal dispersal and grows well in impoverished soil. It is an indicator species of overgrazed land.

Water pump

Guiera naturally "pumps" water to the surface in a process called '' hydraulic lift'' or '' hydraulic redistribution'' (HR): When grown as a companion plant with

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

and other thirsty crops, excess water drawn up by ''Guiera senegalensis''’ deep roots during the night is excreted and becomes available to the surrounding crop, dramatically increasing the yield in the case of millet.

References

External links

Monotypic Myrtales genera {{Myrtales-stub