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Dorstenia drakena

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A wild plant by Eduardo Ruiz-Sanchez, Inaturalist.org.


A green flower by Jibely Martinez, Inaturalist.org.


The leaves by Sky Jacobs, Swbiodiversity.org.


A wild plant by Luis Humberto Vicente Rivera, Inaturalist.org.

Author: 

Carl von Linnaeus, 1759

Family:  MORACEAE
Origin: 

Eastern Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua

Soil: 

Mix - Rich

Water: 

Maximum

Sun: 

Medium

Thickness: 

2 Centimetres

Height: 

25 Centimetres

Flower: 

Green - Dark Brown

Propagate: 

Seeds/Cuttings

Names: 

-

Synonyms: 

Dorstenia crispata, S. Watson.
Dorstenia mexicana,
Benth.
Dorstenia ovalis,
Stokes.
Dorstenia drakena, Vell. 1829.
Dorstenia arifolia, Lam. =
(Dorstenia arifolia
var. pinnatifida, Miq.
Dorstenia cyperus,
Vell.
Dorstenia faria,
Paiva ex Spreng.
Dorstenia ficifolia,
Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Dorstenia fischeri,
Bureau.
Dorstenia fluminensis,
Walp.
Dorstenia mandioccana,
Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Dorstenia maris,
C.Valente & Carauta.
Dorstenia multiformis
Miq.
Dorstenia multiformis
var. arifolia, Bureau.
Dorstenia paradoxa,
Bureau.
Dorstenia peltata,
Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Dorstenia quadrata,
Desv.
Dorstenia riedeliana,
Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Dorstenia strangii,
Carauta)

This member of the Moraceae family was given this name by Carl von Linnaeus in 1759. It is found in eastern Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. It is growing in a well drained but rather rich soil with quite some water and not that much sun. The caudex can grow to two centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to 25 centimetres in height. The flowers are green to dark brown.

The genera is named after Theodor Dorsten, 16th century German botanist and medical professor at Marburg. The species name from Greek δράκαινα; drákaina, “she-dragon”.

Useful fact: The plant is a common domestic remedy in parts of Central America, where it is used to counteract fevers and various forms of poisoning, and a powder of the aromatic rootstocks and leaves are mixed with tobacco for improving the taste of cigarettes.


The brown flowers by Eduardo Ruiz-Sanchez, Inaturalist.org.