''Luehea divaricata'' is a species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

native to the cerrado area of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, particularly the states of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

and

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

. It is known by various local names including "açoita-cavalo", "açoita-cavalo miúdo", "ibatingui", "ivatingui", "pau-de-canga", and "caiboti".

Traditional uses

''Luehea divaricata'' is regarded as a medicinal plant in traditional Brazilian medicine. The stems are used to relieve

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

, the leaves are used as a

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

while a bark decoction is used in the treatment of arthritis. The wood can also be fashioned into whips.

References

External links

Kew Gardens database: ''Luehea divaricata''
Grewioideae Endemic flora of Brazil Trees of Brazil Flora of the Atlantic Forest Flora of the Cerrado Flora of Bahia Flora of Rio Grande do Sul Plants described in 1824 Medicinal plants of South America {{Grewioideae-stub