Allophylus cominia

Allophylus cominia
Allophylus cominia leafy, flowering branch
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Allophylus
Species:
A. cominia
Binomial name
Allophylus cominia
Synonyms
  • Rhus cominia L.
  • Ornitrophe cominia (L.) Willd.
  • Schmidelia cominia (L.) Sw.

Allophylus cominia, with no commonly used English name, is a species of shrub or tree native to tropical America. It belongs to the family Sapindaceae.

Description

Allophylus cominia displays these noteworthy features:

Distribution

Allophylus cominia is native to southern Mexico, the West Indies, and in Central America south to Costa Rica.

Habitat

Allophylus cominia inhabits moist or wet thickets or forest.

Ecology

In Haiti, Allophylus cominia serves as a crucial food source for wildlife, particularly birds. Birds spread the species as they disperse the seeds, facilitating new trees throughout the region.

Human uses


In traditional medicine

In the area of Haiti's Grand Bois National Park, Allophylus cominia provides a remedy for stomach aches, colds, dysentery, tetanus and tuberculosis.

In Cuba, particularly in Afro-Cubans communities, Allophylus cominia is used for treating venereal diseases, colds, indigestion and stomach ache, as well as for veterinary uses. Also in Cuba, drinking a decoction of Allophylus cominia leaves for a period of time is seen as an effective control of blood sugar level for diabetics. However, tests on rats found that under specific laboratory conditions no effects on blood sugar were seen, but neither were there bad effects observed by using the decoction.

In voodoo ceremonies

In the area of Haiti's Grand Bois National Park, where Allophylus cominia is known as Twa fèy, the tree often is used in voodoo ceremonies, it is believed to possess mystical properties.

Taxonomy

In 1759, Allophylus cominia was formally described by Carl Linnaeus under the name Rhus cominia. Attending Linnaeus's Latin description is the annotation "Sloan. jam. t. 108. f.1." This refers to a work by Hans Sloane (1660-1753) describing things of nature encountered during a trip to the West Indies. The "t. 108. f.1" accompanying Linnaeus's description means "tabula 108, figura 1," but the "t. 108" appears to be an error, for tabula 108 figura 1 shows Nepeta maima, a mint. However tabula 208, figura 1 portrays what looks like Allophylus cominia, labeled Baccifera Indica. Elsewhere in the book Baccifera Indica is described as having orange fruits with "... a thin Pulp, a single large Acinus or Stone... ," just like Allophylus cominia.

Varieties

Allophylus cominia includes three accepted varieties:

Etymology

A good guess is that the genus name Allophylus is based on the Greek állos, meaning "other, another," and fýllo, meaning "leaf." So, "another leaf," perhaps referring to the 3-divided leaves of species in the genus. The species name cominia is taken from the genus Cominia P. Browne, that genus name now regarded as a synonym of Allophylus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Allophylus cominia (L.) Sw". Plants of the World Online. United Kingdom: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Standley, Paul C.; Steyermark, Julian A. (December 27, 1949). "Sapindaceae. Soapberry Family". Flora of Guatemala. Vol. 24 Part 4. Chicago, IL, USA: Chicago Natural History Museum. pp. 236–237.
  3. ↑ "Allophylus cominia (L.) Sw". catalogueoflife.org. Catalogue of Life. April 18, 2026. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "A Botanical Adventure: Unveiling Three Native Species in Grand Bois". haititrust.org. Haiti: Haiti National Trust. January 30, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Allophylus cominia (L.) Sw". Flora de Cuba en línea (in Spanish). Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  6. ↑ Véliz Rodríguez, Tania; Valls Gonzáles, Janinne; Marrero Faz, Evangelina; et al. (January 9, 2003). "Análisis fitoquímico y farmacológico de extractos de Allophylus cominia (L.) Sw" (PDF). Revista CENIC Ciencias Biológicas (in Spanish and English). 35 (2). Cuba: Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Cuba. ISSN 0253-5688. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  7. ↑ Linnæi, Caroli (1759). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae:secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 2 (10 ed.). Stockholm (Holmiæ), Sweden: Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. p. 964.
  8. ↑ Sloane, Hans (1725). A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica: with the natural history of the herbs and trees, four-footed beasts, fishes, birds, insects, reptiles, &c. of the last of those islands; ... (in English and Latin). Vol. 2. London: the author. pp. 101–102.
  9. ↑ "243. allos". Bible Hub. Online Parallel Bible Project.
  10. ↑ "What does φύλλο (fýllo) mean in Greek?". wordhippo.com. WordHippo.
  11. ↑ "Cominia P.Browne". Plants of the World Online. United Kingdom: Royal Botanic Gardens. Retrieved May 2, 2026.