''Paullinia'' is a genus of
flowering shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
s, small
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, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s and
liana
A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...
s in the
soapberry family,
Sapindaceae
The Sapindaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1,858 accepted species. Examples include Aesculus, horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee.
The ...
and typical of tribe
Paullinieae. It is native to
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
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 ...
,
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 ...
and the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
.
[
The genus is named after the German ]medical
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
botanist
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
Christian Franz Paullini, who discovered the genus in the Caribbean in the 18th century.
Species
''Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
History
Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
'' includes:[Plants of the World Online: ''Paullinia'' L. (retrieved 24 February 2024)]
/ref>
# '' Paullinia acuminata''
# '' Paullinia acutangula''
# '' Paullinia alata''
# '' Paullinia allenii''
# '' Paullinia alsmithii''
# '' Paullinia anisoptera''
# '' Paullinia anodonta''
# '' Paullinia anomophylla''
# '' Paullinia apoda''
# '' Paullinia arenicola''
# '' Paullinia aspera''
# '' Paullinia austin-smithii''
# '' Paullinia baileyi''
# '' Paullinia barbadensis''
# '' Paullinia bernhardii''
# '' Paullinia bicorniculata''
# '' Paullinia bidentata''
# '' Paullinia bilobulata''
# '' Paullinia bipinnata''
# '' Paullinia boliviana''
# '' Paullinia bracteosa''
# '' Paullinia brenesii''
# '' Paullinia brentberlinii''
# '' Paullinia bristanii''
# '' Paullinia buricana''
# '' Paullinia caloptera''
# '' Paullinia cambessedesii''
# '' Paullinia capitata''
# '' Paullinia capreolata''
# '' Paullinia carpopodea''
# '' Paullinia carrenoi''
# '' Paullinia castaneifolia''
# '' Paullinia cauliflora''
# '' Paullinia cearensis''
# '' Paullinia chocoensis''
# '' Paullinia cidii''
# '' Paullinia cirrhipes''
# '' Paullinia clathrata''
# '' Paullinia clavigera''
# '' Paullinia clematidifolia''
# '' Paullinia conduplicata''
# '' Paullinia connaracea''
# '' Paullinia coriacea''
# '' Paullinia correae''
# '' Paullinia costaricensis''
# '' Paullinia costata''
# '' Paullinia cristata''
# '' Paullinia cuneata''
# ''Paullinia cupana
Guaraná ( from the Portuguese ''guaraná'' ; ''Paullinia cupana'', synonym (taxonomy), syns. ''P. crysan, P. sorbilis'') is a climbing plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guaraná has l ...
'' : Guaraná (Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...
)
# ''Paullinia cururu
''Paullinia'' is a genus of Flowering plant, flowering shrubs, small trees and lianas in the Sapindus, soapberry family, Sapindaceae and typical of tribe Paullinieae. It is native to Tropics, tropical South America, Central America and the Carib ...
''
# '' Paullinia curvicuspis''
# '' Paullinia dasygonia''
# '' Paullinia dasyphylla''
# '' Paullinia dasystachya''
# '' Paullinia decorticans''
# '' Paullinia degranvillei''
# '' Paullinia densiflora''
# '' Paullinia echinata''
# '' Paullinia elegans''
# '' Paullinia elliptica''
# '' Paullinia elongata''
# '' Paullinia emetica''
# '' Paullinia enneaphylla''
# '' Paullinia eriocarpa''
# '' Paullinia exalata''
# '' Paullinia excisa''
# '' Paullinia ferruginea''
# '' Paullinia fibulata''
# '' Paullinia filicifolia''
# '' Paullinia fimbriata''
# '' Paullinia firma''
# '' Paullinia fissistipula''
# '' Paullinia fistulosa''
# '' Paullinia fournieri''
# '' Paullinia fraxinifolia''
# '' Paullinia fruticosa''
# '' Paullinia funicularis''
# '' Paullinia fuscescens''
# '' Paullinia fusiformis''
# '' Paullinia gigantea''
# '' Paullinia globosa''
# '' Paullinia glomerulosa''
# '' Paullinia granatensis''
# '' Paullinia grandifolia''
# '' Paullinia guaviarensis''
# '' Paullinia hemiptera''
# '' Paullinia hispida''
# '' Paullinia hitchcockii''
# '' Paullinia hondurensis''
# '' Paullinia hymenobracteata''
# '' Paullinia hystrix''
# '' Paullinia imberbis''
# '' Paullinia ingifolia''
# '' Paullinia integra''
# '' Paullinia interrupta''
# '' Paullinia isoptera''
# '' Paullinia jamaicensis''
# '' Paullinia josecuatrii''
# '' Paullinia kallunkii''
# '' Paullinia killipii''
# '' Paullinia laeta''
# '' Paullinia largifolia''
# '' Paullinia latifolia''
# '' Paullinia leiocarpa''
# '' Paullinia linearis''
# '' Paullinia lingulata''
# '' Paullinia livescens''
# '' Paullinia macrophylla''
# '' Paullinia mallophylla''
# '' Paullinia manarae''
# '' Paullinia marginata''
# '' Paullinia mariae''
# '' Paullinia martinellii''
# '' Paullinia martinensis''
# '' Paullinia mazanensis''
# '' Paullinia medullosa''
# '' Paullinia meliifolia''
# '' Paullinia micrantha''
# '' Paullinia microneura''
# '' Paullinia mollicoma''
# '' Paullinia morii''
# '' Paullinia navicularis''
# '' Paullinia nitida''
# '' Paullinia nobilis''
# '' Paullinia novemalata''
# '' Paullinia nuriensis''
# '' Paullinia obovata''
# '' Paullinia oldemanii''
# '' Paullinia olivacea''
# '' Paullinia pachycarpa''
# '' Paullinia panamensis''
# '' Paullinia parvibractea''
# '' Paullinia paullinioides''
# '' Paullinia pinnata''
# '' Paullinia plagioptera''
# '' Paullinia platymisca''
# '' Paullinia plumieri''
# '' Paullinia prevostiana''
# '' Paullinia pseudota''
# '' Paullinia pterocarpa''
# '' Paullinia pterophylla''
# '' Paullinia quitensis''
# '' Paullinia reticulata''
# '' Paullinia revoluta''
# '' Paullinia rhomboidea''
# '' Paullinia riodocensis''
# '' Paullinia rubiginosa''
# '' Paullinia rufescens''
# '' Paullinia rugosa''
# '' Paullinia scaberula''
# '' Paullinia scabra''
# '' Paullinia selenoptera''
# '' Paullinia seminuda''
# '' Paullinia serjaniifolia''
# '' Paullinia setosa''
# '' Paullinia simulans''
# '' Paullinia sphaerocarpa''
# '' Paullinia spicata''
# '' Paullinia spicithyrsa''
# '' Paullinia splendida''
# '' Paullinia sprucei''
# '' Paullinia stellata''
# '' Paullinia stenopetala''
# '' Paullinia sternii''
# '' Paullinia stipitata''
# '' Paullinia stipularis''
# '' Paullinia subauriculata''
# '' Paullinia subnuda''
# '' Paullinia talamancensis''
# '' Paullinia tarapotensis''
# '' Paullinia tenera''
# '' Paullinia tenuifolia''
# '' Paullinia ternata''
# '' Paullinia tetragona''
# '' Paullinia tomentosa''
# '' Paullinia tricornis''
# '' Paullinia trifoliolata''
# '' Paullinia trigonia''
# '' Paullinia trilatera''
# '' Paullinia triptera''
# '' Paullinia tumbesensis''
# '' Paullinia turbacensis''
# '' Paullinia uchocacha''
# '' Paullinia uloptera''
# '' Paullinia unifoliolata''
# '' Paullinia venezuelana''
# '' Paullinia venosa''
# '' Paullinia verrucosa''
# '' Paullinia vespertilio''
# '' Paullinia weinmanniifolia''
# '' Paullinia wurdackii''
# '' Paullinia xestophylla''
# '' Paullinia yoco'' - Yoco
Uses
Several uses are recorded. The fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
of several species are edible, with '' P. cupana'' (Guaraná) being the most popular. Other species, notably '' P. yoco'' (Yoco), are used as herbal medicine
Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...
for various treatments. The sap of some species, notably '' P. cururu'' is highly toxic, and is used as an arrow poison by Native American tribes 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 ...
. Similarly, the long flexible stems of '' Paullinia pinnata'' are used to poison fish in shallow pools, as described by the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates in his book '' The Naturalist on the River Amazons''.[Bates, H. W. (1864). ''The naturalist on the River Amazons, a record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life and aspects of nature under the Equator during eleven years of travel''. London: J. Murray. Second edition. (Reprinted in paperback facsimile, Elibron Classics, 2005.) Page 242.]
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Sapindaceae genera