Crossopetalum gaumeri

Crossopetalum gaumeri
Leafy stems with fruits
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Celastrales
Family: Celastraceae
Genus: Crossopetalum
Species:
C. gaumeri
Binomial name
Crossopetalum gaumeri
Synonyms[2]
  • Myginda gaumeri Loes.
  • Rhacoma gaumeri (Loes.) Standl.

Crossopetalum gaumeri is a shrub species growing mainly in tropical wet forests of southern Mexico and adjacent Central American countries. It belongs to the family Celastraceae.[2]

Description

Here are key features of Crossopetalum gaumeri helping with the species' identification:[3]

  • The shrub's stems are 4-cornered, hairless and up to 3 m (10 ft) tall. Generally they are green or red.
  • Pairs of leaves on petioles up to 8 mm (3⁄8 in) long arise opposite one another with blades up to 11 cm (4+1⁄2 in) long and 4.5 cm (1+3⁄4 in) wide. Blade margins bear no lobes or indentations, though they can have tiny, widely spaced teeth.
  • Flowers on pedicels up to 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long have four reddish-brown petals up to 1.5 mm (1⁄16 in) in diameter and 4 rounded sepals about a third as long as the petals; sepals bear short, soft hairs. As with other Crossopetalum species, in the flower's center a short style emerges from the center of a disk- or ring-like, nectar-producing "nectary" about 1 mm (1⁄32 in) in diameter.[4]
  • Fruits are drupe-type, red at maturity, up to 13 mm (1⁄2 in) long, and about 6.5 mm (1⁄4 in) wide, broadest above their middles.

Distribution

In southeastern Mexico, Crossopetalum gaumeri occurs in the Yucatan Peninsula. In Central America it is found in Belize and Guatemala.[5] Reports of a disjunct Mexican population in Veracruz state have been determined to be based on a misidentification.[6]

Habitat

In Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Crossopetalum gaumeri occurs in both dry forest and moist forest, as well as among coastal dunes and disturbed, weedy areas such as roadsides and agricultural fields.[7]

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List in 2019 listed Crossopetalum gaumeri as a species of Least Concern with a stable population.[1]

In traditional medicine

In Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula the Mayan people use Crossopetalum gaumeri for snakebite[7] as well as for treating illnesses suggesting an infection such as diarrhea, vomiting, colic, fever and sore throat. In fact, root extracts in methanol are shown to contain terpenoid-type metabolites with potential antimicrobial uses.[8]

Taxonomy

In 1898 when Ludwig Eduard Theodor Loesener formally described Crossopetalum gaumeri under the basionym of Myginda gaumeri, his type specimen was from Buena Vista Xbac, Yucatán, México, collected by George Franklin Gaumer, his #1049.[9]

Etymology

The genus name Crossopetalum is derived from the Greek krossos, meaning "fringe," and petalon, meaning "petal." This alludes to the fringed margins on petals of the type species.[4]

The species name gaumeri honors George Franklin Gaumer, who collected the type specimen [9]

References

  1. 1 2 "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2026-1". IUCN. 2026. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Crossopetalum gaumeri (Loes.) Lundell". Plants of the World Online. United Kingdom: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Crossopetalum gaumeri (Loes.) Lundell". The World flora Online (2026) (in Spanish {description}). published on the Internet from Flora Mesoamericana. Retrieved August 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  4. 1 2 Ma, Jinshuang (November 5, 2020). "Crossopetalum P. Browne". Flora of North America. Flora of North America Association. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  5. ↑ Hassler, Michael (August 2, 2026). "Crossopetalum gaumeri (Loes.) Lundell". Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 26.08. Germany: World Plants. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  6. ↑ Duno de Stefano, Rodrigo; Angulo, Diego F.; Fernánez-Concha, Germán Carnevali (December 15, 2022). "Una breve pesquisa sobre Crossopetalum gaumeri (Celastraceae). To be, or not to be [endemic], that is the question" (PDF). Desde el Herbario CICY (in Spanish). 14. Mérida, Yucatán, México: Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C.: 270–274. ISSN 2395-8790. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Taxón: Crossopetalum gaumeri (Loes.) Lundell". Flora de La Península de Yucatán (in Spanish). Mérida, Yucatán, México: Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  8. ↑ Vila Luna, María Leonor; Yam Puc, Jesús Alejandro; Ramon Sierra, Jesús Manuel; Luz Ortiz Vázquez, Elizabeth de la (2022). "Evaluación antimicrobiana de extractos metanólicos de plantas usadas en la medicina tradicional Maya" (PDF). BioTecnología (in Spanish). 26 (3). Oaxaca, México: Sociedad Mexicana de Biotecnología y Bioingeniería: 60. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  9. 1 2 Loesener, Theodor (January 1898). Contribution III to the Coastal and Plain Flora of Yucatan. Botanical Series (in Latin). Vol. 1. Chicago, IL, USA: Field Columbian Museum. p. 401.
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