CAZAHUATE: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, BENEFITS AND EFFECTS - SCIENCE - 2024

The hunt (Ipomoea arborescens) is a deciduous arborescent species belonging to the convolvulácea family that grows in the pantropical region. Native to Mexico, it is known as white hunt, smooth hunt, meek hunt, ozote, palo blanco, palo bobo, palo del muerto, seven shirts or lunch.

It is a species of great attraction, since in times of flowering the buds alba cover the entire crown of the tree. In addition, it is a plant used in popular medicine due to its medicinal properties.

Hunting tree (Ipomoea arborescens). Source: Wicki, from Wikimedia Commons

Various species of the genus Ipomea are known by the common name of hunt: I. arborescens, I. murucoides, I. pauciflora and I. wolcottiana. The main difference is based on the size of the sepals (<9 mm) and velvety in I. arborescens.

In traditional medicine the huntress is used in various ways - bath, infusion or tea - for the treatment of various diseases. This plant has anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, diuretic, analgesic and sedative properties.

General characteristics

The hunt is a tree with dense and thin branches, sinuous trunk of dark color that grows to 5-10 m. The extensive umbrella-shaped or ovoid crown tends to lose foliage annually.

It is a fast-growing tree, two to three meters per year, with a trunk diameter of 50 cm in adult plants. The rough texture bark presents a color variation between gray and brown.

The young stems are usually tomentose with small fine tangled hairs that offer the sensation of velvet. After the third year they are glabrescent, likewise the wood of the tree produces a white latex.

The dark green leaves are oval or lanceolate; they are 8-20 cm long and 2-8 cm wide. During the juvenile stage, the leaves are covered by abundant velvet-like hairiness.

The white bisexual flowers of approximately 5-8 cm in diameter are funnel-shaped with profuse hairiness on the margins. They grow in clusters of multiple flowers -2 to 5- in the axils of the leaves and at the end of the shoots; zoophilic pollination.

Hunting hunt flowering. Source: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, BC, Canada, via Wikimedia Commons

The velvet-covered flower stalks show a light green hue; it commonly blooms from October to April. The fruits of ovoid appearance when ripe usually open in two cavities, the angular seeds are dark brown.

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae

Subkingdom: Tracheobionta

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: Asteridae

Order: Solanales

Family: Convolvulaceae

Tribe: Ipomoeeae

Genus: Ipomoea

Species: Ipomoea arborescens (Humb. & Bonpl. Ex Willd.) G. Don

Distribution and habitat

Species native to Mexico that grows wild in thickets and dry mountains at elevations between 600-2400 meters above sea level. It is frequently located in gardens and parks, forming part of the fence of pastures or on the edge of plots.

In Mexico it is located from Oaxaca and Veracruz in the south, to Chihuahua and Sonora in the north. In Guatemala, El Salvador, Senegal and Zimbabwe it is located as a crop of economic importance.

It inhabits regions of open thorn forests, low deciduous forests, oak savannas and dry deciduous forests, being part of the biodiversity present in xerophilous scrub in some regions.

Hopper flowers (Ipomoea arborescens). Source: Wicki, from Wikimedia Commons

It is a species that develops in full sun exposure and is adapted to tropical conditions. It grows in poor, sandy, calcareous soils, with a slightly alkaline pH between 6.1 and 7.8.

Health benefits

The hunt is a very valuable plant for the inhabitants of the Mixtec region for its medicinal properties. Traditionally it is used to treat skin problems, hair loss, remove blackheads and relieve erysipelas.

It is usually used as a bath prepared based on the cooking of flowers, leaves, stems and bark of the plant. Likewise, it is used to relieve pain and inflammation caused by rheumatism, falls or paralysis problems.

For alopecia, flowers, leaves and branches are boiled, cooking is filtered and applied as a hair tonic after bathing. The cooking of the bark of the tree taken as tea can soothe the discomfort of the scorpion sting.

The huntress infusion has diuretic properties, being effective in reducing inflammation of the belly, ovaries and swelling of the feet. Likewise, as a topical treatment, it allows to relieve toothache, cough and popping ear.

The dried seeds, crushed and prepared as tea are useful to remove the "cold" from the body. It is usually advisable to calm the nerves, and even to relieve discomfort from fluid retention or dropsy.

Popular beliefs indicate that the headache is relieved by placing a flower on the patient's head. In the case of an ant sting, a small piece of dry branch placed behind the ear can relieve pain.

Other benefits

On the other hand, an edible fungus is produced on the old branches of the hunt, highly valued for its pleasant texture and flavor. This edible mushroom - hunt's ear - is the Pleurotus ostreatus species belonging to the Pleurotaceae family.

The nutritional importance of the fungus developed on the hunt is the presence of essential amino acids for human nutrition. The nutritional contribution of Pleurotus ostreatus is comparable to a chicken egg, with the advantage of low cholesterol content.

The little catcher's ear is used to make various traditional dishes such as quesadillas, mushroom cream and cakes. The greatest production of fungi occurs in the rainy season.

The hunter has other practical applications, such as making soap for laundry or personal use. The ashes of the plant are used as a substitute for salt as a supplement in cattle; In addition, insecticidal properties are attributed to it.

Side effects

The Ipomoea arborescens species contains alkaloids, so its direct consumption must be controlled. The hallucinogenic properties of the plant have promoted the development of studies and feasibility as a possible agricultural insecticide.

It has been determined that consumption by cattle or goats causes addiction and consequently general malnutrition; causing weakness and decreased defenses, facilitating the incidence of various pathogens that can cause the death of the animal.

References

1. Cazahuate (2009) Atlas of the Plants of Traditional Mexican Medicine. Recovered in: medicinatraditionalmexicana.unam.mx
2. The hunt and its mushrooms (2014) El Cuexcomate. Recovered at: cuexcomate.com
3. Standley Paul C. and Williams Louis O. (1970) Flora de Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Volume 24, Part IX, Numbers 1 and 2. Published by Field Museum of Natural History.
4. Vibrans Heike and Rojas Chávez Sonia (2011) Convolvulaceae. Ipomoea murucoides Roem. & Schult. Cazahuate. Mexican weeds. Recovered at: conabio.gob.mx
5. Wikipedia contributors (2018). Ipomoea arborescens. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered at: wikipedia.org