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Picramnia antidesma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Picramnia antidesma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Picramniales
Family: Picramniaceae
Genus: Picramnia
Species:
P. antidesma
Binomial name
Picramnia antidesma
Sw.

Picramnia antidesma (also known as Chilillo, Majoe bitters, or Macary bitters) is a species of plant in the Picramniaceae family, native to Mexico, Central America, and the Greater Antilles.[2][3]

In his posthumously published work Hortus Americanus, surgeon and naturalist Henry Barham credits an "old negro woman," Majoe, with using the plant as a treatment for yaws and venereal disease. Barham describes seeing the plant growing near St. Jago de la Vega in Jamaica and its use among enslaved people in the area.[2][4]

References

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  1. ^ Machuca Machuca, K.; Martínez Salas, E.; Samain, M.-S. (2022). "Picramnia antidesma". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T205474470A205617360. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T205474470A205617360.en.
  2. ^ a b "Natural History Museum: Slavery and the natural world". Natural History Museum. pp. chapter 8: page 7, chapter 10: pages 26–27.
  3. ^ "Picramnia antidesma Sw. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  4. ^ Barham, Henry (1794). Hortus Americanus : containing an account of the trees, shrubs, and other vegetable productions of South-America and the West India Islands, and particularly of the island of Jamaica ... Kingston, Jamaica: printed and published by Alexander Aikman. p. 96.

Further reading

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