Paullinia Explained
Paullinia is a genus of flowering shrubs, small trees and lianas in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae and typical of tribe Paullinieae. It is native to tropical South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The genus is named after the German medical botanist Christian Franz Paullini, who discovered the genus in the Caribbean in the 18th century.
Species
Plants of the World Online includes:[1]
- 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 (Amazon Basin)
- Paullinia cururu
- 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 of several species are edible, with P. cupana (Guaraná) being the most popular. Other species, notably P. yoco (Yoco), are used as herbal medicine 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. 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.[2]
Notes and References
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A36520-1 Plants of the World Online: Paullinia L. (retrieved 24 February 2024)
- 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.
