JACARANDA: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, SPECIES, USES - BIOLOGY - 2025

The genus Jacaranda is a member of the family Bignoniaceae, a family of dicotyledonous plants. It is common to find plants of this genus in regions of tropical and subtropical America. On the other hand, members of the genus are characterized by presenting a tree-like way of life.

Trees of the genus Jacaranda are medium to large in size (some Brazilian species are shrubs or subshrubs). Furthermore, the leaves of these trees are bipinnate. In turn, they present inflorescence.

Jacarandas on a street in La Plata, Argentina. Source: Wikimedia Commons

For their part, the fruits are oblong capsules and the seeds are thin and winged. Some trees are characterized by producing lilac flowers.

At present, some 49 species of this genus are known. These species are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions and are very common in tropical America. They are pioneer species highly demanding of light.

Plants of the genus Jacaranda have interesting biological and chemical properties. At present, its applications range from use as an antiparasitic to use as an antitumor. Likewise, the trees of this genus are exploited for their wood.

characteristics

The genus Jacaranda is characterized by having medium-sized trees to some large ones. However, some species in Brazil have a bush-like or subshrub-like life form.

The foliage is deciduous and the leaves are generally bipinnate. Some trees show pinnate leaves, and few have simple leaves.

Likewise, the trees present paniculate inflorescence that can be terminal or axillary. Thus, the inflorescence can be pauciflora or multiflora, and sometimes the inflorescences are born from old branches.

Meanwhile, the calyx is short and wide, bell-shaped. They can also be dome-shaped, almost truncated. Generally, the calyx has five denticulate or sharply lobed sepals.

On the other hand, the corolla is blue-purple, tubular, bell-shaped. It may also present pubescence or be devoid of hair. Likewise, the stamens have anthers without pubescence, frequently of a single teak. The pollen grains are smooth on their cover and have three openings at their equator.

Male Black Honeyeater on a Jacaranda tree. Sandy Hollow, NSW, Australia

On the other hand, the fruits of Jacaranda plants are oblong capsules, frequently flattened perpendicular to the septum. Furthermore, the capsules are dehiscent perpendicular to the septum and parallel to the compression plane.

On the other hand, the fruit valves are glabrous (without pubescence) with a wavy margin. In turn, the seeds are thin and winged, with hyaline or brown membranous wings.

Jacaranda fruit. I have

Habitat and distribution

The genus Jacaranda contains 49 species around the world and they are native to Central America, the Caribbean and South America. In tropical America they are distributed from southern Mexico, through the Antilles, until reaching Argentina. They are also widely cultivated on the European continent.

Jacaranda micrantha. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Of the 49 species of Jacaranda, 39 taxa are endemic to Brazil. Several of these Brazilian species have been reported from a single location: Jacaranda bullata, Jacaranda egleri, Jacaranda intricata, Jacaranda morii, Jacaranda paucifoliolata, Jacaranda praetermissa.

For its part, Jacaranda decurrens is an endemic species of the Cerrado region in Brazil. Another species, Jacaranda copaia, is considered a neotropical humid forest species that is distributed from Belize, passing through Brazil and Bolivia.

Jacaranda brasiliana. mauroguanandi

In Colombia there are eight taxa represented, of which one is not native: Jacaranda mimosifolia. This last species is distributed by the northeast of Argentina and the bordering areas of Bolivia, and is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries.

Jacaranda trees are generally pioneers. This leads to them being very light demanding too, which is why they tend to colonize clearings in forests.

On the other hand, the seeds are scattered by the wind, after which they germinate. They can later colonize the open areas that were created by falling trees.

Species

The genus Jacaranda comprises about 49 species worldwide, of which the following can be mentioned:

1. Jacaranda acutifolia
2. Jacaranda arborea
3. Jacaranda bracteata Bureau & K. Schum.
4. Jacaranda brasiliana (Lam.) Pers.
5. Jacaranda bullata H.Gentry
6. Jacaranda caerulea (L.) J.St.-Hil.
7. Jacaranda campinae H.Gentry & Morawetz
8. Jacaranda carajasensis H.Gentry
9. Jacaranda caroba (Vell.) DC.
10. Jacaranda copaia (Aubl.) D. Don
11. Jacaranda copaia spectabilis (Mart. Ex DC.) AHGentry
12. Jacaranda cowellii Britton & P. ​​Wilson
13. Jacaranda crassifolia Morawetz
14. Jacaranda decurrens
15. Jacaranda duckei Vattimo
16. Jacaranda glabra (DC.) Bureau & K. Schum.
17. Jacaranda grandifoliolata H.Gentry
18. Jacaranda hesperia Dugand
19. Jacaranda intricata H.Gentry & Morawetz
20. Jacaranda irwinii H.Gentry
21. Jacaranda jasminoides (Thunb.) Sandwith
22. Jacaranda macrantha
23. Jacaranda macrocarpa Bureau & K. Schum.
24. Jacaranda micrantha
25. Jacaranda microcalyx H.Gentry
26. Jacaranda mimosifolia Don
27. Jacaranda montana Morawetz
28. Jacaranda mutabilis
29. Jacaranda obovata
30. Jacaranda obtusifolia
31. Jacaranda obtusifolia rhombifolia (G.Mey.) AHGentr
32. Jacaranda orinocensis Sandwith
33. Jacaranda paucifoliata ex DC.
34. Jacaranda paucifoliolata ex A. DC.
35. Jacaranda poitaei
36. Jacaranda praetermissa Sandwith
37. Jacaranda puberula Cham
38. Jacaranda pulcherrima Morawet
39. Jacaranda racemosa
40. Jacaranda rufa Silva Manso
41. Jacaranda rugosa H.Gentry
42. Jacaranda selleana
43. Jacaranda simplicifolia Schum. ex Bureau & K. Schum.
44. Jacaranda sparrei H.Gentry
45. Jacaranda subalpina Morawetz

Uses and applications

Wood industry

Jacaranda trees are widely used in the lumber industry, due to the physical properties of the wood produced. The high degree of hardness of their logs, and especially their properties and appearances, make them used in the production of high value manufactured articles such as furniture.

In Brazil, the lumber industry from Jacaranda trees has been increasing in recent years. The exploitation of wood, mainly of the J. copaia species, has made Brazil one of the first wood producers.

J. copaia trees have a high potential to be exploited for their wood, since they are considered the fastest growing timber tree.

Disease treatment

Likewise, Jacaranda species have ethnobotanical qualities, due to the fact that certain metabolites have antiparasitic properties, mainly against malaria. Some of its metabolites, mainly triterpenes, phenols and quinones, are highly studied for their active properties. Similarly, extracts from some species of this genus have been found to have antitumor properties.

Jacaranda acutifolia in the Botanical Garden of the University of Debrecen. Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz

For example, J. acutifolia is used in the treatment of wounds and dermatitis. The foliar extracts of J. caerulea are used for the treatment of abscesses and pimples. For its part, J. caroba is used as an astringent, as a diuretic and against syphilis. In Bolivia, J. cuspidifolia is used to treat leishmaniasis. This last disease is treated by the extracts of several species of Jacaranda.

References

1. Bertoni, B., Telles, MP, Malosso, MG, Torres, SCZ, Pereira, JO, Lourenço, MV, França, SC, Pereira, AMS, 2010. Genetic diversity in natural populations of Jacaranda decurrens determined using RAPD and AFLP markers. Genetics and Molecular Biology. 33 (3), 532-538.
2. Jones, FA, Hubbell, SP, 2006. Demographic spatial genetic structure of the Neotropical tree, Jacaranda copaia. Molecular Ecology. 15, 3205-3217.
3. Cachet, MS, Schühly, W., 2008. Jacaranda - An ethnopharmacological and phytochemical review. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 121, 14-27.
4. Jacaranda Juss., Gen. PL: 138. 1789.
5. Maues, MM, De Oliveira PE, Kanashiro, M., 2008. Pollination biology in Jacaranda copaia (Aubl.) D. Don. (Bignoniaceae) at the “Floresta Nacional do Tapajós”, Central Amazon, Brazil. Brasil Bot Magazine. 31 (3), 517-527.
6. The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Posted on the internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=jacaranda (Accessed May 11, 2019).
7. Wright, SJ, van Schaik, CP, 1994. Light and phenology of tropical trees. The American Naturalist. 143 (1), 192-199.