Bridelia micrantha

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Malpighiales

Familia: Phyllanthaceae
Subfamilia: Phyllanthoideae
Tribus: Bridelieae
Subtribus: Pseudolachnostylidinae
Genus: Bridelia
Species: Bridelia micrantha
Name

Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill.
References

Adansonia; recueil periodique d'observations botaniques. Paris 3:164. 1863
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Bridelia micrantha in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Bridelia micrantha, the mitzeeri or the coastal golden-leaf, is a tree in the family Phyllanthaceae and is native to tropical and southern Africa as well as to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.[4]

Description

A medium to tall tree (up to 20 m),[5] with a dense widely spreading crown.[6] The leaves are large, alternate and simple.[5] The tree may be deciduous or evergreen.[7]
Habitat

They are found growing in coastal forests (such as KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Lowland Forest), riverine forest, swamp forest,[5] woodland and along forest margins.[7]
Native distribution

Bridelia micrantha is native to primarily tropical, northeast, western, west-central, and southern Africa (in Angola; Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia;[5] Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Nigeria; Rwanda; São Tomé & Príncipe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Africa (in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga; and Eswatini);[5] Sudan; Tanzania (inclusive of the Zanzibar Archipelago); Togo; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe); and the western Indian Ocean island of Réunion.[7][8]
Ecological significance

Bridelia micrantha is a larval food plant for butterflies such as: Abantis paradisea, Charaxes castor flavifasciatus and Parosmodes morantii morantii,[9] and also the silkmoth Anaphe panda.[10]
Ethnobotanical medicinal use

Bridelia micrantha has been used locally in folk medicine, variously as an anti-abortifacient, an antidote, a laxative or purgative; and to treat diverse conditions of the central nervous system (headache), eye (infections, conjunctivitis), the gastrointestinal system (abdominal pain, constipation, gastritis), respiratory system (common cold), and the skin (scabies);[11] and used hygienically as a mouthwash.[11]
References

Rivers, M.C.; Barstow, M.; Mark, J. (2017). "Bridelia micrantha". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T61956569A61956571. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61956569A61956571.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
Under its treatment as Bridelia micrantha (from the basionym Candelabria micrantha) this name was first published in Adansonia 3: 164. 1862. "Name - Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
Synonymy for Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baill. at Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
"World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
Pooley, E. (1993). The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. ISBN 0-620-17697-0.
Radcliffe-Smith A. Flora of West Tropical Africa, Vol 1 Part 2.
"Bridelia micrantha". Flora of Zimbabwe. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
"Bridelia micrantha". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 5, 2011.
"Bridelia micrantha". www.plantzafrica.com. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
2008 Research Paper: Spatial distribution of cocoon nests and egg clusters of the silkmoth Anaphe panda (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae) and its host plant Bridelia micrantha (Euphorbiaceae) in the Kakamega Forest of western Kenya. doi:10.1017/S1742758407859662
James A. Duke. "Bridelia micrantha (EUPHORBIACEAE)". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Retrieved November 5, 2011.