General information
Summary description
Well known for its dark wood and its thorn-covered branches.
Scientific nomenclature
The Jurema Preta belongs to Family Fabaceae; Subfamily Mimosoideae; Mimosa tenuiflora (Mart.) Benth. Synonyms: Acacia hostilis Mart.; Mimosa cabrera Karsten; Mimosa limana Rizzini; Mimosa nigra Huber; Acacia tenuiflora Wild., Basionym: Acacia tenuiflora Willd. (TROPICOS, 2017).
Local names
Calumbi and Jurema.
Cultural and economic importance
Jurema Preta is used for forage, firewood production, medicinal purposes, and for beekeeping activities (to collect nectar) (ARAUJO FILHO, 2013). Due to its fast growth and good regrowth capacity, it is very important in the recovery of degraded areas (MAIA-SILVA et al., 2012). Its wood is used to build posts and stakes, rustic furniture, firewood and coal of high combustion power (CNIP, 2017).
Ecological importance
According to Maia (2004), Jurema Preta prefers lowland secondary formations with deep soils, moist, alkaline and fertile. Heliophyte deciduous tree, hygrophile, pioneer, exclusive from the Caatinga, where it is very common, but with irregular dispersion through its area of distribution.
Phenology
According to Araujo Filho (2013), the phenological cycle of Jurema Preta starts in the rain season, losing flowers during the dry season, and full recovery of leaves in the wet period. Flowering at the end of the wet period, and fructification in the dry season.
Geographical distribution
Natural occurrence in the Caatinga, widely found in the states of Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, and Bahia (CNIP, 2017).
Botanic description
Size, crown shape, color, growth habit
Small tree (4 to 7 m), dark brown-reddish sapwood and yellowish heartwood.
Vegetative characteristics
- Trunk and bark
Known for its aculeus-covered branches. Its trunk may be straight or slightly tilted, with dark brown rough rhytidome. Brown-reddish branches.
- Leaves
Bipinnate leaves, with seven pinnae, 15 to 33 leaflets of 5 to 6 mm in length.
- Flower/inflorescence
White small flowers gathered in isolated spikes of 4 to 8 cm (1.6 to 3.2in) in length.
- Fruit, seeds and dispersal syndrome
The fruit, just as most of the leguminous species, is a dehiscent pod. Smooth oval seeds in dark brown.
Seed technology
Germination
Seeds with tegument dormancy or physical dormancy, which may be overcome by scarification. Immersion in hot water for four minutes and cutting sees on the opposite side of micropyle are the best methods to overcome dormancy of this species (BENEDITO, 2012). Emergence occurs in 2 to 4 weeks and germination rate is generally high in seeds treated for dormancy breaking.
Seed health
In a seed sample, after stored in an incubator in filter-paper and potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) culture medium, the following fungi were identified: Aspergillus niger, Penicililum sp., Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus stolonifer, and Rhizoctonia sp. (BENEDITO, 2012).
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REFERENCES
- ARAÚJO FILHO, J. A. Manejo pastoril sustentável da caatinga. 1 ed. , Recife, PE: Projeto Dom Helder Camara 2013. 204 p.
- BENEDITO, C. P. Biometria, germinação e sanidade de sementes de jurema-preta (Mimosa tenuiflora Willd.) e jurema-branca (Piptadenia stipulacea Benth.). 2012. 97 f. Dissertation (Masters in Plant Science: Seed Technology) – Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Mossoró, 2012.
- CNIP. Centro Nordestino de Informações sobre Plantas. Available at <http://www.cnip.org.br/bdpn/ficha.php?cookieBD=cnip7&taxon=6324>. Access 05 mar 2017.
- MAIA, G. N. Caatinga: árvores e arbustos e suas utilidades. 1. ed. São Paulo: D & Z Computação Gráfica e Editora, 2004. 413p.
- TROPICOS. Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. Availavle at <http://www.tropicos.org/Name/13036820>. Access 02 may 2017.