''Lecythis minor'', the monkey-pot tree, is a small tree with

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

seeds that occurs in

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 ...

Description

''Lecythis minor'' is a small to medium-sized tree that ranges from in height and has a

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

. Its

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

is grey, and is smooth when the tree is young but develops deep vertical fissures as the tree ages. It has ovoid

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

that are about long and wide. The leaves are

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

and

coriaceous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

, with serrated margins. The leaves have 12 to 19 pairs of lateral veins, and the leaf stalks are and puberulous. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s of ''Lecythis minor'' are arranged on a

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...

, being long, and the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s are white to yellow, green while budding. Each rachis has 10 to 75 flowers, and the rachides are pubescent. The fruit of the tree have a distinct cup shape representative of the genus ''Lecythis'', and are spherical with a thick

pericarp Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather th ...

. The seeds are reddish-brown and

fusiform Fusiform (from Latin ''fusus'' ‘spindle’) means having a spindle (textiles), spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon (geometry), lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a ...

, and contain toxic amounts of

selenium Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...

. The seeds tolerate a very low pH.

Habitat and ecology

''Lecythis minor'' is common in South America. It ranges from the Maracaibo lowlands of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

to the northern coast of

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 ...

where it ascends the Magdalena and Cauca valleys. It was introduced in many other places in South America as well, from

La Lima La Lima is a city, with a population of 80,740 (2023 calculation),Citypopulation.de
Population of the major ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

to Soledad in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. It occurs in dry, open, and disturbed habitats, where it grows as a small and many-branched tree. It can also be found in moister forests where it forms a taller, single-trunked tree. It grows especially well along rivers in tropical forests. The tree tolerates an annual precipitation of , an annual temperature of , and a soil pH of 5.0 to 8.0. The tree is pollinated by bees and seeds are dispersed by fruit bats.

Uses

It is cultivated as an ornamental tree in many places, such as the Summit Gardens in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. The nuts of the tree are collected when ripe, and the tree can produce fruit as young as tall. In indigenous medicine, the fruit is supposedly antiasthmatic and

depilatory Hair removal is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair. This process is also known as epilation or depilation. Hair is a common feature of the human body, exhibiting considerable variation in thickness and length across different pop ...

Chemistry

The seeds are toxic, especially when consumed in large quantities. The toxicity is derived from the

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

in the plant that is a selenium analog to

cystathionine Cystathionine is an intermediate in the synthesis of cysteine from homocysteine. It is produced by the transsulfuration pathway and is converted into cysteine by cystathionine gamma-lyase (CTH). Biosynthetically, cystathionine is generated from h ...

, through which selenium is stored in the seeds during reproductive growth. The seeds contain approximately 85% of the tree's total selenium in the form of

selenomethionine Selenomethionine (SeMet) is a naturally occurring amino acid. The L-selenomethionine enantiomer is the main form of selenium found in Brazil nuts, cereal grains, soybeans, and grassland legumes, while ''Se''-methylselenocysteine, or its γ-glu ...

. The seeds taste agreeable, but can induce

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, and

giddiness Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a common medical ...

, and can cause loss of hair and fingernails. Dickinson found that after consuming 300 to 600 seeds he had temporary loss of hair and fingernails. The toxicity can vary depending on the soil, as some evidence suggests that seed toxicity increases as the amount of selenium in the soil increases.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10959676

minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

Trees of South America Ornamental trees