Sapium marmieri
Huber
Euphorbiaceae
Sapium leitera Gleason
Sapium peloto Pax & K.Hoffm.
Common Name:
General Information
Sapium marmieri is a tree that can grow around 20 metres tall. The bole is straight and cylindrical[
363- Title
- Technical Information on 134 Species of Bolivian Woods
- Publication
-
- Author
- USDA Forest Service -- Forest Products Lab
- Website
- http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/publications/
- Publisher
- USDA Forest Service
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A PDF file, available for download. Exactly what the title says, brief and to the point.
,
434- Title
- Flora of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Macbride. J.F.
- Publisher
- Field Museum of Natural History
- Year
- 1936
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild for its wood. It was at one time considered to be of economic value as a source of latex for making rubber, but the advent of synthetic rubber, and the dominance of Hevea brasiliensis as the source of natural rubber, has made this species unimportant commercially.
Known Hazards
The latex is very poisonous[
434- Title
- Flora of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Macbride. J.F.
- Publisher
- Field Museum of Natural History
- Year
- 1936
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
]. It is used as an arrow poison[
412- Title
- Illustrated Guide to the Trees of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Pennington, T.D.; Reynel, C. & Daza, A.
- Publisher
- David Hunt; Sherbourne, England.
- Year
- 2004
- ISBN
- 0 9538134 3 6
- Description
- A very terse guide to the trees of Peru, managing to give basic guides to a large number of genera, with more detail on a few species in each genus.
].
Botanical References
412- Title
- Illustrated Guide to the Trees of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Pennington, T.D.; Reynel, C. & Daza, A.
- Publisher
- David Hunt; Sherbourne, England.
- Year
- 2004
- ISBN
- 0 9538134 3 6
- Description
- A very terse guide to the trees of Peru, managing to give basic guides to a large number of genera, with more detail on a few species in each genus.
,
434- Title
- Flora of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Macbride. J.F.
- Publisher
- Field Museum of Natural History
- Year
- 1936
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
Range
S. America - northern Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia.
Habitat
Lowland and montane rain forest at elevations up to 1,200 metres in Peru[
412- Title
- Illustrated Guide to the Trees of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Pennington, T.D.; Reynel, C. & Daza, A.
- Publisher
- David Hunt; Sherbourne, England.
- Year
- 2004
- ISBN
- 0 9538134 3 6
- Description
- A very terse guide to the trees of Peru, managing to give basic guides to a large number of genera, with more detail on a few species in each genus.
]. Found in alluvial soils[
434- Title
- Flora of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Macbride. J.F.
- Publisher
- Field Museum of Natural History
- Year
- 1936
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].
Properties
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Tree |
| Height | 20.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal
The latexi, known as 'Gaucho Mashan', is used as a powerful purgative. It is taken orally, generally mixing a small amount of it in water[
1900- Title
- Bioactivity of certain medicinal latexes used by the Ese’ejas
- Publication
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology 47 (1995) 159-163
- Author
- Mongelli E. et al
- Website
- http://10.1016/0378-8741(95)01262-C
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 1995
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
].
Other Uses
The abundant milky sap is very poisonous. It can be used to produce a rubber of lower quality[
434- Title
- Flora of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Macbride. J.F.
- Publisher
- Field Museum of Natural History
- Year
- 1936
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].
The heartwood is white; it is not clearly demarcated from the sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain is straight; lustre is absent. The wood is moderately easy to work and is used for purposes such as mouldings, furniture, veneer and plywood[
363- Title
- Technical Information on 134 Species of Bolivian Woods
- Publication
-
- Author
- USDA Forest Service -- Forest Products Lab
- Website
- http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/publications/
- Publisher
- USDA Forest Service
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A PDF file, available for download. Exactly what the title says, brief and to the point.
].
We have no more information on the wood for this species, but a general description of the wood from American members of the genus is as follows:-
The heartwood is whitish, yellowish, or light brown; it is not distinct from the cream-coloured sapwood. The texture is medium; the grain straight to slightly interlocked; lustre is low; there is no distinctive odour or taste. The wood has a low resistance to decay and insect attack, including dry-wood termites; lumber is particularly prone to blue stain. The wood is reported to air dry rapidly with only slight warping and checking. It works easily because of its low density; sometimes surfaces are fuzzy but it generally machines smoothly; one report indicates a difficulty in sanding. It is used for purposes such as plywood, fiberboard, particleboard, general carpentry, millwork, utility furniture, boxes and crates[
316- Title
- Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Chudnoff. Martin.
- Publisher
- USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin.
- Year
- 1984
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
].
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
