Virola elongata

Virola elongata (syn. Virola theiodora ) is a species of tree in the family Myristicaceae. The tree is native to Panama, Guyana, Brazil (Acre, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia and Roraima), Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.[1][2] It is also found in Suriname.[2] Virola elongata is thin and 7.5–23 m (25–75 ft) tall, sometimes 30 m (98 ft) tall.[2]

Virola elongata
Virola elongata 1860 Illustration
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Myristicaceae
Genus: Virola
Species:
V. elongata
Binomial name
Virola elongata
Synonyms
  • Myristica cuspidata[2]
  • Myristica punctata[2]
  • Myristica membranacea[2]
  • Myristica uaupensis[2]
  • Palala punctata[2]
  • Palala uaupensis[2]
  • Palala cuspidata[2]
  • Palala membranacea[2]
  • Palala elongata[2]
  • Palala uaupensis[2]
  • Virola cuspidata uaupensis[2]
  • Virola cuspidata[2]
  • Virola theiodora Warb.[1]

The trunk is about 43 cm (17 in) in diameter, cylindrical and has smooth brown and gray bark. The fruit is ellipsoidal to subglobular, 11–20 mm (0.43–0.79 in) long, 10–15 m (33–49 ft) in diameter and comes in groups of 40.[2] The tree is found in evergreen forests and in scrub up to 800 m (2,600 ft) in altitude.[2]

The Yanomami people use the powdered resin as an entheogen known as nyakwána which is inhaled or "snuffed" into the nasal cavity, it contains a high concentration of 5-MeO-DMT and DMT.[3]

Virola elongata extracts have weak antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus.[4]

Fruit and seeds
Virola elongata fruit
Virola elongata seeds

References
  1. "Virola elongata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2008-04-05.
  2. "Plantes et botanique :: Virola elongata". www.plantes-botanique.be. Archived from the original on 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  3. Agurell, S; Holmstedt, B; Lindgren, JE; Schultes, RE (1969). "Alkaloids in certain species of Virola and other South American plants of ethnopharmacologic interest". Acta Chemica Scandinavica. 23 (3): 903–16. doi:10.3891/acta.chem.scand.23-0903. PMID 5806312.
  4. Suffredini, Ivana Barbosa; Paciencia, Mateus Luís Barradas; Varella, Antonio Drauzio; Younes, Riad Naim (2006). "Antibacterial Activity of Brazilian Amazon Plant Extracts" (PDF). Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases. 10 (6): 400–2. doi:10.1590/S1413-86702006000600008. PMID 17420913.
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