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Cecropia
 
 
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Cecropia is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 25 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s in the nettle family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 (Urticaceae
Urticaceae

Urticaceae, or the nettle family, is a family of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica . Urticaceae includes a number of well-known, interesting and useful plants, including genus Urtica , Boehmeria nivea , Pipturus albidus , and Debregeasia saeneb ....
). They are native to the tropical Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, where they form one of the most recognisable components of the rainforest
Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750?2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests....
. The genus is named after Cecrops I
Cecrops I

Cecrops was a mythical king of Athens. The name means 'face with a tail': it is said that, born from the earth itself, he had his top half shaped like a man and the bottom half in serpent or fish-tail form....
, the mythical first king of Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. A common local name is yarumo or yagrumo, or more specifically yagrumo hembra ("female yagrumo") to distinguish them from the similar-looking but unrelated Schefflera
Schefflera

Schefflera is a genus in the flowering plant family Araliaceae. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing 1-30 m tall, with woody stems and palmately-compound leaves....
 (which are called yagrumo macho, "male yagrumo").






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Cecropia is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 25 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s in the nettle family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 (Urticaceae
Urticaceae

Urticaceae, or the nettle family, is a family of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica . Urticaceae includes a number of well-known, interesting and useful plants, including genus Urtica , Boehmeria nivea , Pipturus albidus , and Debregeasia saeneb ....
). They are native to the tropical Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, where they form one of the most recognisable components of the rainforest
Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750?2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests....
. The genus is named after Cecrops I
Cecrops I

Cecrops was a mythical king of Athens. The name means 'face with a tail': it is said that, born from the earth itself, he had his top half shaped like a man and the bottom half in serpent or fish-tail form....
, the mythical first king of Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. A common local name is yarumo or yagrumo, or more specifically yagrumo hembra ("female yagrumo") to distinguish them from the similar-looking but unrelated Schefflera
Schefflera

Schefflera is a genus in the flowering plant family Araliaceae. The plants are trees, shrubs or lianas, growing 1-30 m tall, with woody stems and palmately-compound leaves....
 (which are called yagrumo macho, "male yagrumo"). In English, these trees are occasionally called pumpwoods (though this may also refer to C. schreberiana specifically) or simply cecropias.

In the past, they were commonly placed in a distinct family Cecropiaceae or in the mulberry family (Moraceae
Moraceae

Morus-alba.jpgMoraceae ? often called the mulberry family or fig family ? is a family of flowering plants comprising about 40 genera and over 1000 species....
), but the modern Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to two international groups of systematic botany who came together to try to establish a consensus view of the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge in angiosperm relationships based upon molecular systematics studies....
 system places the "cecropiacean" group in the Urticaceae
Urticaceae

Urticaceae, or the nettle family, is a family of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica . Urticaceae includes a number of well-known, interesting and useful plants, including genus Urtica , Boehmeria nivea , Pipturus albidus , and Debregeasia saeneb ....
.

The genus is easily identified by the large, circular, palmately lobed leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
, about 30-40 cm in diameter and deeply divided into 7-11 lobes.

Ecology and uses

These tree are a characteristic feature of many American tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest

Tropical rainforests are usually found around the equator. They are common in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Southern Mexico and on many of the Pacific Islands....
 ecosystems and may be among the dominant tree species in some places. Being aggressive, rapid growth trees, whose succulent fruits are readily sought by various animals, they tend to be among the first pioneer species
Pioneer species

Pioneer species are species which colonize previously uncolonized land, usually leading to ecological succession. Since uncolonized land usually has thin, poor quality soils with few nutrients, pioneer species are typically very hearty plants with adaptations such as long roots,...
 to occupy former forest areas cleared for pasture or altered by human activity.Cecropia hololeuca, known in Brazil as "silver cecropia", has broad, silver-hue leaves that make it to be used as an ornamental plant for landscaping
Landscaping

Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including but not limited to:# living organism, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape....
 projects.

Cecropia species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 species, including the arctiid moth
Arctiidae

Arctiidae is a large and diverse family of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, with 6,000 Neotropical species . This family includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths , which usually have bright colours, footmen , lichen moths and wasp moths....
 Hypercompe icasia; the Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia) is a North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n species however, and thus allopatric with the plant genus. The leaves and buds are also eaten by sloth
Sloth

The living sloths comprise six species of medium-sized mammals that live in Central America and South America belonging to the Family two-toed sloth and three-toed sloth, part of the order Pilosa....
s . as their main source of food. But many herbivore
Herbivore

Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism, known as an herbivore, heterotrophs principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria....
s avoid these plants: most Cecropia are myrmecophyte
Myrmecophyte

A myrmecophyte or ant plant is a plant that lives in association with a colony of ants and possesses specialized organs in which the ants live....
s, housing dolichoderine ants
Dolichoderinae

Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants, which includes species such as the Argentine ant , the erratic ant, the Tapinoma sessile, and the Dorymyrmex....
 of the genus Azteca, which will vigorously defend their hostplant against getting eaten. This symbiosis
Symbiosis

The term symbiosis commonly describes close and often long-term interactions between different biological species. The term was first used in 1879 by the Germany mycology Heinrich Anton de Bary, who defined it as "the living together of unlike organisms"....
 has been studied extensively by biologist
Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life.Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment....
s such as Daniel Janzen
Daniel Janzen

Daniel Hunt Janzen is an Evolutionary ecology, Natural history, and Conservation movement and the son of a previous Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service....
.

Cecropia fruit, known as snake fingers, are a popular food of diverse animals however, including bat
Bat

Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera. The forelimbs of all bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of sustained flight ....
s like the Common Fruit Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) or Carollia
Carollia

Carollia is a genus of bats often referred to as the short-tailed fruit bats. Along with the genus Rhinophylla, Carollia makes up the subfamily Carolliinae of family Phyllostomidae, the leaf-nosed bats....
 species, the Central American Squirrel Monkey
Central American Squirrel Monkey

The Central American Squirrel Monkey is a squirrel monkey species from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. It is restricted to the northwestern tip of Panama near the border with Costa Rica, and the central and southern Pacific Ocean coast of Costa Rica, primarily in Manuel Antonio National Park and Corcovado National Parks....
 (Saimiri oerstedii), and bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s like the Green Aracari
Green Aracari

The Green Aracari, Pteroglossus viridis, is a toucan, a near-passerine bird found in the lowland forests of northeastern South America , in the northeast Amazon Basin, the Guianas and the eastern Orinoco River drainage of Venezuela....
 (Pteroglossus viridis),the Peach-fronted Conure (Aratinga Aurea), the Bare-throated Bellbird
Bare-throated Bellbird

The Bare-throated Bellbird is a species of bird in the Cotingidae family.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests....
 (Procnias nudicollis) and particularly nine-primaried oscine
Nine-primaried oscine

The nine-primaried oscines are a group of songbird family from the superfamily Passeroidea. It is comprised of the Fringillidae , Emberizidae , Parulidae , Thraupidae , Cardinalidae , Icteridae and the monotypic Peucedramidae ....
s. The seeds are not normally digested
Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be Absorption, for instance, by a blood stream....
 and thus these animals are important in distributing the trees. Some birds – e.g. the Lesser Potoo
Lesser Potoo

The Lesser Potoo, Grey Potoo or Common Potoo , is a nocturnal bird which breeds in tropical central America and South America from Costa Rica to northern Argentina and northern Uruguay....
 (Nyctibius griseus) – nest in Cecropia trees. The Elfin-woods Warbler
Elfin-woods Warbler

The Elfin-woods Warbler , or Reinita de Bosque Enano , is a bird Endemism in birds to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico where it is a local and uncommon species....
 (Dendroica angelae) is notable for using Cecropia leaves as nesting material, which no other New World warbler
New World warbler

The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small often colourful passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
 (family Parulidae) seems to do.

Red Cecropia (C. glaziovii) shows antidepressant
Antidepressant

An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used for alleviating major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Drug groups known as MAOIs, tricyclics, and second-generation antidepressants such as SSRIs, and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are particularly associated with the term....
-like activity in rats. Native peoples use Cecropia for food, firewood
Firewood

Firewood is any wood material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
, and in herbalism
Herbalism

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy....
; some species also have cultural significance. On Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an island country in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles....
, Shield-leaved Pumpwood (C. peltata) root is chewed and given to dogs that have been bitten by poisonous snakes as an emergency remedy. Cecropia leaves can be used as a substitute for sandpaper
Sandpaper

Sandpaper is a form of paper where an abrasive material has been fixed to its surface.Sandpaper is part of the "coated abrasives" family of abrasive products....
. In western South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, Cecropia leaf ash is used in the traditional preparation of ypadu
Ypadu

Ypad? or ypadu is an unrefined, unconcentrated Powder made from coca leaves and the ash of various other plants. Like coca teas consumed in Peru to adapt to sickness induced by high elevation, it has a long ethnobotanical history and cultural associations....
, a mild coca
Coca

Coca is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to north-western South America. The plant plays a significant role in traditional Andean culture....
-based stimulant. Cecropia bark can be used in rope
Rope

A rope is a length of fibers, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength ....
 making as well as in tannery
Tannery

Tannery may refer to:* A facility where the tanning process is applied to hides to produce leather.* Paul Tannery was a mathematician.* The Tannery, crime novel by English actress Sherrie Hewson....
. Cecropia wood is used in the manufacture of boxes, toys
Toys

Toys is a 1992 in film surreal comedy film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, and Robin Wright-Penn....
, aeromodelling models and rafts.

Selected species

foliage]] , Cecropia pachystachya]]
  • Cecropia concolor Willd.
  • Cecropia glaziovii Snethl. – Red Cecropia
  • Cecropia hololeuca Miq.
  • Cecropia insignis Liebm.
  • Cecropia longipes
    Cecropia longipes

    Cecropia longipes is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is found in Colombia and Panama. It is threatened by habitat loss....
  • Cecropia lyratiloba Miq.
  • Cecropia maxima
    Cecropia maxima

    Cecropia maxima is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is Endemism to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
  • Cecropia maxonii
    Cecropia maxonii

    Cecropia maxonii is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is Endemism to Panama. Category:Flora of Panama...
  • Cecropia multiflora
    Cecropia multiflora

    Cecropia multiflora is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is Endemism to Peru. Category:Flora of Peru...
  • Cecropia myrtluca
  • Cecropia obtusifolia
    Cecropia obtusifolia

    Cecropia obtusifolia is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama....
  • Cecropia pachystachya Trécul – Ambay Pumpwood, ambay (= C. adenopus)
  • Cecropia palmata Willd.
  • Cecropia pastasana
    Cecropia pastasana

    Cecropia pastasana is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is Endemism to Ecuador. Category:Flora of Ecuador Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
  • Cecropia peltata L. – Shield-leaved Pumpwood, bois canôt, "trumpet tree"
  • Cecropia pittieri
  • Cecropia polyphlebia
  • Cecropia polystachya Trécul
  • Cecropia schreberiana Miq.
    • Cecropia schreberiana ssp. antillarum (Snethl.) C.C.Berg & P.Franco (= C. antillarum)
    • Cecropia schreberiana ssp. schreberiana
  • Cecropia sciadophylla Mart.
  • Cecropia tubulosa
    Cecropia tubulosa

    Cecropia tubulosa is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is Endemism to Peru....
  • Cecropia utcubambana
    Cecropia utcubambana

    Cecropia utcubambana is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is Endemism to Peru....
  • Cecropia velutinella
    Cecropia velutinella

    Cecropia velutinella is a species of plant in the Cecropiaceae family. It is Endemism to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes....


Footnotes


External links