The guásima, guásimo or caulote (Guazuma ulmifolia) is a plant with arboreal growth, belonging to the Sterculiaceae family. It is a widely distributed species of American origin and extends from Mexico to northeast Argentina.
The G. ulmifolia tree has dense foliage with numerous branches. For its part, the bark is light gray and the leaves hang on strong petioles averaging 10 mm in length.
Guazuma ulmifolia. JMGarg
On the other hand, the flowers are yellow-green and are grouped in panicle-like inflorescences, which hang from pedicels 2 to 3 cm long. The fruits of the guásima are oblong or elliptical with an average length of 3 cm and with conical prominences. On the other hand, the seeds are ovoid, 3 mm long and covered with transparent mucilage.
Guazuma ulmifolia frequents valleys, ravines, drainages and small streams. It also inhabits the vegetation biome of low deciduous forest, thorny scrub, and unarmed scrub. It is distributed in an altitudinal range from 500 to 1000 meters above sea level and flowering occurs throughout the year.
Guásimo is used as an ornamental plant to decorate streets in urban areas, its wood is also used, and fibers can be extracted from the stem. Likewise, this tree is used in traditional medicine to treat elephantiasis, skin ailments, syphilis, hair loss, and respiratory infections.
characteristics
Tree
Guazuma ulmifolia is a tree-growing plant that is between 8 and 20 meters tall. It has a crown with multiple branches, originating from a monopodial meristem. The shaft of the guásimo is short and curved, with deep furrows.
Leaves
The leaves of the guásimo have deciduous stipules, with a thread-like or triangular appearance. Each leaf hangs from a petiole 0.5 to 2.5 cm long and measures 6 to 18 cm long by 2.5 to 10 cm wide, with an ovate or oblong shape, and with a truncated base.
Guásima leaves. Franz Xaver
The apex is acuminate, the margin is serrated or crenate, the upper surface has little clothing, while the underside has more clothing, especially in the midrib.
flowers
The flowers are arranged in panicles or compound dicasia, with pedicels 2 to 3 cm long. The color of the flowers varies from green, white or yellow, and the calyx has sepals 3 to 4 mm long and covered with stellate trichomes.
Guazuma ulmifolia flowers. JMGarg
For its part, the corolla has an average length of 1 mm and has dorsal garments of simple trichomes. The staminal tube is 1.5 to 2 mm long, cup-shaped, and with clustered anthers.
In turn, the gynoecium presents a dense clotted ovary with stellate trichomes and the style has an average length of 1 mm with five geniculate lobes at the base of the style.
Fruit
The fruits of G. ulmifolia are capsules 1.5 to 4.6 cm long, 1.4 to 2.5 cm wide, spherical or ellipsoid, indehiscent, and mucilage. The closed fruits have conical prominences with uniform size, and black or dark brown color.
Each fruit has five internal cavities that contain the seeds, which are obovoid with an average length of 3 mm, with a thin testa covered with transparent mucilage.
Fruits of the guásimo. JMGarg
Habitat and distribution
Guásimo is a plant that is distributed from Mexico to the north of Argentina. This species is also found in the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and in Hawaii it has become naturalized. G. ulmifolia inhabits tropical deciduous forests, xerophytic scrub, and gallery forests. It extends in an altitudinal range from 550 to 1000 meters above sea level.
Guazuma ulmifolia frequently inhabits areas with average annual rainfall of 700 to 1500 mm, however it can grow in areas with annual rainfall of up to 2500 mm.
In their natural distribution, the areas present an annual dry season, which lasts from 2 to 7 months. Guasimo loses its leaves during periods of severe drought, although they can remain green if there is enough moisture in the soil.
From the edaphological point of view, guásimo adapts to a great variety of soil conditions, and can colonize soils with sandy and clayey textures. Soils of the orders Inceptisols, Alfisols, Ultisols, Oxisols, and Vertisols, are of importance to this plant.
In general, guásimos trees tend to colonize well-drained sites, although they can be found on stony soils and on roadsides. Guazuma ulmifolia does not tolerate saline soils and the pH can vary from 5.5 to 7.5.
Guásimo is frequently associated with other forest species of semi-deciduous forests such as Acrocomia mexicana, Casearia parvifolia, Castilla elastica, Cochlospermum vitifolium, Cyrtocarpa procera, Forchhammeria pallida, Heliocarpus spp., Luehea candida, Lysiloma acapulcensis, Piptadenias sp., Piptadenias sp. purpurea, Thouinia sp., Trema micrantha, and Xylosma flexuosum.
In the Alisios forests, the guásimo cohabits with Hymenaea courbaril, Lonchocarpus velutinus, Falaga chiloperone, Senegalia glomerosa, Casearia spp., Cordia bicolor, and Genipa americana.
Applications
Guasimo is widely used as a lumber tree, the sapwood of this tree is light brown and the heartwood is brown or reddish-brown. The wood produced by this species is relatively soft and therefore easy to work. On the other hand, the specific weight varies from 0.4 to 0.65 g / cm3, this of course depends on the region where it grows.
The wood of G. ulmifolia has been used to make furniture, boxes, shoe lasts, and tool handles. The people of rural areas use the wood of this tree as poles and as stakes for vegetables.
The fruit of this tree is edible and can therefore be fed to poultry and livestock. Also, the leaves are high in nutrients, so this species can also be used as forage.
In traditional medicine, guásimo has been used to treat numerous illnesses, such as flu, colds, burns, and dysentery. Furthermore, the ethanolic extracts of this plant have been found to have antibiotic properties.
References
- Francis, JK 2000. Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. In: Bioecology of Native and Exotic Trees of Puerto Rico and the West Indies. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry. pp 262
- Cristóbal, CL 1989. Comments about Guazuma ulmifolia (Sterculiaceae). Bonplandia, 6 (3): 183-196.
- Machuca-Machuca, K. 2015. Sterculiaceae (DC.) Bartl. In: Flora of the Valley of Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. Fascicle 128: 1-43
- Nunes, YRF, Fagundes, M., Santos, RM, Domingues, EBS, Almeida, HS, Gonzaga, PD 2005. Phenological activities of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Malvaceae) in a decidual seasonal forest not north of Minas Gerais. Lundiana, 6 (2): 99-105.
- Sánchez-Escalante, JJ 2005. The guásima (Guazuma ulmifolia Lam.). Our Earth, 15.