Cecropia obtusifolia

Cecropia obtusifolia
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Urticaceae
Genus:	Cecropia
Species:	C. obtusifolia
Binomial name
Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol.
Synonyms[1]
Ambaiba commutata (Schott ex Miq.) Kuntze Ambaiba costaricensis Kuntze Ambaiba hemsleyana Kuntze Ambaiba mexicana (Hemsl.) Kuntze Ambaiba obtusifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze Ambaiba panamensis (Hemsl.) Kuntze Cecropia alvarezii Cuatrec. Cecropia amphichlora Standl. & L.O.Williams Cecropia burriada Cuatrec. Cecropia commutata Schott ex Miq. Cecropia concolor Miq. nom. illeg. Cecropia dabeibana Cuatrec. Cecropia levyana Aladar Richt. Cecropia maxonii Pittier Cecropia mexicana Hemsl. Cecropia panamensis Hemsl.

Cecropia obtusifolia is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. Common Names include trumpet tree, pop-a-gun, tree-of-laziness, and snakewood tree.^[2] In Central America it is known as Guarumo. Though impressive silhouetted against the sky, it is an invasive species in the islands of Hawaii.

Cecropia obtusifolia is used in traditional Amerindian medicine. Many other species of the genus Cecropia share the folk reputation of curing heart failure, cough, asthma and bronchitis. Cecropia obtusifolia has vasorelaxant activity due possibly to inhibition of angiotensin.^[3]

References

1. "The Plant List".
2. "Guarumo (Cecropia obtusifolia)". Natural Standard Monograph.
3. Guerrero EI. Moran-Pinzon JA. Ortiz LG. Olmedo D. del Olmo E. Lopez-Perez JL. San Feliciano A. Gupta MP."Vasoactive effects of different fractions from two Panamanians plants used in Amerindian traditional medicine." Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 131(2):497-501, 2010 Sep 15.

• Mitré, M. 1998. Cecropia obtusifolia. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 August 2007.