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

s in the legume family,

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It includes 10 species native to

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 ...

, ranging from Venezuela and the Guianas to southern Brazil. ''Zollernia'' are trees or shrubs that flower annually. Species are most commonly found in dense moist forests, but also grow in seasonally-dry

cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

(savanna and open woodland) and

caatinga Caatinga () is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Tupi word '' ka'atinga'', meaning "white forest" or "white vegetat ...

(deciduous thorn woodland and scrub). Leaves of ''Zollernia ilicifolia'' are used medicinally as an

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

and antiulcerogenic by the peoples of the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian tropical Atlantic Rainforest.

References

Exostyleae Fabaceae genera Flora of Southern America Flora of Brazil Flora of the Atlantic Forest Medicinal plants of South America Taxa named by Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied Trees of South America {{faboideae-stub