''Renealmia alpinia'' is a

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, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

species native to the Americas, where it grows from southern Mexico through much of

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 ...

, though not in the Southern Cone. It can also be found on several

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 ...

islands. In Quechua it is called ''misk'i p'anqa'' (''misk'i'' sweet; honey, ''p'anqa''

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

, "sweet bract" or "honey bract"). The name alludes to ''R. alpinias value as a culinary herb, especially for flavoring fish. Among Spanish-speakers this species is known as ''jenjibre-de-jardin'' ("garden ginger"). Both ''jenjibre-de-jardin'' and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

(''Zingiber officinale'') are in the family

Zingiberaceae Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical ...

. ''Renealmia alpinia'' is commonly known as ''mardi gras'' in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, where hunters administer it either orally or topically to their

hunting dog A hunting dog is a Dog, canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different Dog type, types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, cur type dogs, and ...

s to treat a variety of conditions, from

sprain A sprain is a soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers made of collagen that connect two or ...

s to snakebite. In Suriname it's known as ''masoesa''.

Biochemistry

Zhou et al. (1997) of the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

identified three

diterpene Diterpenes are a class of terpenes composed of four isoprene units, often with the molecular formula C20H32. They are biosynthesized by plants, animals and fungi via the HMG-CoA reductase pathway, with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate being a primary ...

s produced by ''R. alpinia'': 11-hydroxy-8(17),12(E)-labdadien-15,-16-dial 11,15-hemiacetal (1) and 16-oxo-8(17),12(E)-labdadien-15-oic acid (2), which are labdane diterpenes, and 8(17),12(E)-labdadien-15,16-dial (3). The team performed these assays on the basis of reports that ''R. alpinia'' may be

antipyretic An antipyretic (, from ''anti-'' 'against' and ' 'feverish') is a substance that reduces fever. Antipyretics cause the hypothalamus to override a prostaglandin-induced increase in temperature. The body then works to lower the temperature, which r ...

(fever-reducing).

Biogeography

In Mexico, wild ''R. alpinia'' populations have been found in the southern states of

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

, and

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. It also grows on the Caribbean islands of Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, Nevis, Trinidad, and Tobago. In

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 ...

, it grows in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. In South America, it is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

References

External links

''Renealmia alpinia''
at Discover Life. Retrieved 24 June 2013. {{Taxonbar, from=Q15296809 alpinia Flora of the Amazon Flora of Brazil Flora of Colombia Flora of Costa Rica Flora of Ecuador Flora of French Guiana Flora of Grenada Flora of Guadeloupe Flora of Guatemala Flora of Guyana Flora of Honduras Flora of Martinique Flora of Mexico Flora of Montserrat Flora of Panama Flora of Peru Flora of Puerto Rico Flora of Saint Kitts and Nevis Flora of Suriname Flora of Trinidad and Tobago Flora of Venezuela Medicinal plants of South America Plants described in 1775 Flora without expected TNC conservation status