Common Name: Guamacho

General Information

Leuenbergeria guamacho is a spiny, deciduous shrub or a small tree growing around 4 - 8 metres tall. The bole is usually short, up to 200cm high and 25cm in diameter[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sold for medicinal purposes in local markets and is also sometimes grown as a stock-proof hedge.
Leuenbergeria guamacho has a wide distribution with high density per subpopulation. However, it has a patchy distribution and most of the subpopulations do not occur in protected areas. Because of increasing urban and agricultural expansion, the status of this species could be threatened in the future. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Northern S. America - Colombia, Venezuela; C. America - Panama

Habitat

Flatlands and also on hill slopes in rocky areas, in semiarid and arid coastal regions and inland in the wet
savannahs; at elevations from sea level to 1,000 metres, occasionally to 1,800 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	6.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Leuenbergia species occur in dry forests and thorn-scrub habitats in a tropical climate with a more or less pronounced dry season of about two to five months[].
Species in this genus generally prefes a well-drained, circum-neutral soil in a sunny position[].
Species in this genus can be evergreen, but are deciduous under conditions with seasonal drought. Iin cultivation they also lose their leaves if the mean temperature falls below around 15°c[].
The plant comes into flower towards the end of the dry season, when it is still leafless[].
The flowers open during the day and only last one day[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, ]. Fleshy[]. A bitter-sweet flavour[]. The globose to obovate, green fruit is around 15 - 20mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

This species, like many other Pereskias (sensu lato), can produce racemes with notable pharmacological properties[].

The plant (part not specified) is used as a cardiac stimulant, diuretic and as a tonic for the liver[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is used for the construction of livestock fences or grown as hedges around homesteads[]. Cuttings around 100cm long are taken during the dry season and placed fairly close to each other to form a living fence of spiny canes. This soon develops into an impenetrable, stock-proof hedge[].
Cut trunks and larger branches are used for fence posts, which will usualy root and grow to a considerable size[]..

Other Uses

We have no specific description of the wood for this species, but the general description for the wood from Pereskia species (sensu lato) is as follows:-The wood is yellow, without difference between softwood and heartwood. The texture is medium, soft grain, straight fibre, with no characteristic odour or taste[],

Propagation

Seed - fresh seed can be slow to germinate, it is best to sow seed that is between several months to 2 years old and this should germinate after a few days. Even when five years old, seed can have a 50% germination rate[].
Easily grown from cuttings of half-ripe wood, taken during the dry season[, ].

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