Dear Budd,
Thanks for your question regarding the chorisia speciosa tree. I?ll
try give you some information about the species as well as some
information about the chemical breakdown of the substances found in
this tree.
The tree is also known as the silk floss tree. Other names include
kapok, floss silk tree, and ceiba del brasil.
Here?s a general description from http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/chor_spe.cfm
? [The] Silk floss tree is an awkwardly branched 30-60 ft (9.1-18.3 m)
tree with pale green leaves palmately divided into 5-7 pointed
leaflets. The young trees start out growing fast, straight, and
narrow, then slowly develop broadly spreading umbrella canopies as
they age. The bulbous green trunk is covered with big blunt warty
triangular spines and turns gray as the tree gets older. Silk floss
trees typically drop their leaves just before they put on their
spectacular autumn display of five-petaled flowers. The petals vary
from pale pink to rose to purple or burgundy at the tips and grade
into ivory with brownish spots or blotches at the base. The flowers
are followed by pear shaped capsules filled with many seeds embedded
in silky white floss. Chorisia taxonomy has not been refined and the
flowers of this "species" are extremely variable, so there is a good
chance that several different species and/or hybrids thereof are
lumped under the name C. speciosa.?
The tree is native to Brazil and Argentina, but can be found growing
in parts of southern California and Florida. The trees will drop
their leaves below a temperature of 27F and have been known to survive
freezes down to 20F. The tree can grow 3-5ft per year.
Here are some pictures of specimens of this tree:
http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/images/chor_sp1.jpg
http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/images/chor_sp2.jpg
http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/images/chor_sp3.jpg
http://www.cuyamaca.net/oh170/Thumbnail_Pages/Chorisia_speciosa.asp
You can find brief fact sheets on the tree here:
http://www.cuyamaca.net/oh170/Characteristic%20Pages/Chorisia%20speciosa.asp
http://www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/subs/cho-spe-sub.asp
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/55678/
Numerous other pages can be found using the Google search ?chorisia
speciosa? (note spelling):
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=chorisia+speciosa&btnG=Search
Regarding information relevant for chemical composition:
Multiple plants were studied for their cyanogenic abilities (ability
to generate cyanide) as part of their innate defense mechanisms.
Included in this study were the leaves and fruit of the chorisia
speciosa tree. Of note, only one plant in the study was found to have
an enzyme facilitating the generation of HCN, meaning that generation
of cyanide by the other plants in the study (including chorisia
speciosa) was considerably slower. The paper can be found here:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:vY_-zkQrHwkJ:www.scielo.br/pdf/babt/v43n5/a06v43n5.pdf+%22chorisia+speciosa%22+breakdown&hl=en
I had difficulty loading the PDF found here for the same article (the
article may no longer exist online):
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/babt/v43n5/a06v43n5.pdf
There are three articles written specifically on chemical composition
of various components of the tree, including the article cited by
pyle112-ga:
Jose L. Di Fabio1 and Guy G. S. Dutton, Patrick Moyna. The structure
of Chorisia speciosa gum. Carbohydrate Research, Volume 99, Issue 1, 1
January 1982, pp. 41-50.
Here?s an abstract:
?The purified, gum exudate from Chorisia speciosa (Palo borracho) was
studied. It contains, in moles per mole, L-arabinose, ~1; L-rhamnose,
2; D-mannose, 1; D-galactose, 8; and D-glucuronic acid, 3; and a trace
of D-xylose. The results from methylation analysis and selective,
alkaline degradation, combined with the characterization of the
oligosaccharides resulting from partial hydrolysis with acid, made
possible the assignment of a tentative "average structure.?
This article is from 1982. Articles prior to 1995 are not available
from any online subscription library source, but is available directly
from the publisher via ScienceDirect for $15 at this link:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6TFF-42HPM07-NS-1&_cdi=5225&_user=10&_orig=search&_coverDate=01%2F01%2F1982&_qd=1&_sk=999009998&view=c&wchp=dGLbVlz-zSkWz&md5=6c2f68b75076d4bd7482c05d48302a34&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
____________________________________
The other two articles are from the same research group:
Beleski-Carneiro E. Sugui J. Reicher F. Structural and biological
features of a hydrogel from seed coats of Chorisia speciosa.
Phytochemistry. 61(2):157-63, 2002 Sep.
UI: 12169309
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12169309
?Seed coats from Chorisia speciosa form a hydrogel on contact with
water. When the hydrogel was solubilized and the solution centrifuged,
subsequent ethanol precipitation gave a polysaccharide (F-I) composed
of rhamnose, galactose and uronic acid in a molar ratio of 25:44:31.
Analysis of F-I by HPSEC-MALLS showed a homogenous polymer with high
molecular weight. It consisted of a main chain of (1-->4)-linked
beta-galactopyranosyl units as indicated by NMR spectral and
methylation data analysis, with rhamnose, galactose and glucuronic
acid as non-reducing end units. This fraction interfered with adhesion
of Colletotrichum graminicola, a causal agent of anthracnose, to
polystyrene slides and to leaves of corn, thus delaying infection in
the latter.?
Full text for this article is here (again for $15):
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6TH7-46HDFMC-7-9&_cdi=5275&_user=10&_orig=search&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2002&_qd=1&_sk=999389997&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzb-zSkWb&md5=2e5bfa731d3fd7a3c83b95c27300fc12&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
This article essentially looked at the hydrogel formed on the seeds of
the tree, it?s composition, and how it inhibited infection with
Colletotrichum graminicola.
_____________________________________
Beleski-Carneiro EB. Ganter JL. Reicher F. Structural aspects of the
exudate from the fruit of Chorisia speciosa St. Hil. International
Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 26(4):219-24, 1999 Dec 1.
PMID: 10569282
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10569282
?Mature fruit of Chorisia speciosa yield an exudate (E-I) following
mechanical injury. The polysaccharide contains rhamnose, arabinose,
xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose and glucuronic acid in molar
ratios of 20:11:1:3:2:40:23. The main chain of the structure is
composed by beta-galactopyranosyl units linked (1 --> 3) and (1 --> 6)
as indicated by NMR spectra and methylation data. Arabinosef and
rhamnose are terminal residues. In order to compare E-I with the
polysaccharides from the fruit mesocarp, the latter was submitted to
different extractions. The water fraction contains rhamnose,
arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, galactose and uronic acid in
molar ratios of 18:4:1:2:3:44:28. It was treated with CTAB yielding a
precipitate which was decomplexed with NaCl, giving four fractions.
The fraction obtained using 0.15 M NaCl had a quantitative composition
similar that of E-I.?
After an exhaustive search, these are the only articles that appear to
be published on the chemical composition of the various parts of the
Chorisia speciosa plant.
I hope you will find this information useful. Feel free to ask for
any clarification.
Best,
-welte-ga |
