Machaerium hirtum
StarMachaerium hirtum
Synonyms: Machaerium pilosum, Nissolia hirta, Machaerium glabripes, Machaerium angustifolium f. glaucum, Machaerium affine, Machaerium acaciifolium, Machaerium violaceopurpureum, Machaerium rectipes, Machaerium glabratum, Machaerium bolivianum, Machaerium jacarandifolium
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
In Brazilian folk medicine the bark of Machaerium hirtum (jacaranda-de-espinho) is used to treat ulcers, cough, diarrhoea and cancer (Useful Tropical Plants; genus review, Pereira et al. 2015). Pharmacological studies of leaf and branch extracts have confirmed antinociceptive (pain-relieving) effects mediated by opioidergic, nitric-oxide and glutamatergic systems, and anti-inflammatory activity acting on the cyclooxygenase pathway, with the plant yielding flavanones, alkaloids, triterpenes, steroids and C-glycosylated flavones (de Souza et al., Biomolecules 2020; Chemical constituents study).
Botanical Description
Machaerium hirtum, known in Brazil as jacaranda-de-espinho, is a small thorny tree or large shrub of the legume family (Fabaceae), native to central and south-eastern South America, including Brazil (Paraná, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Minas Gerais) and the borders of Bolivia and Paraguay. It typically reaches several metres in height, with branches armed with curved, paired spines. The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound, bearing numerous small oblong leaflets, the young growth often hairy (hirsute). In the flowering season the plant becomes covered in showy purple to violet pea-like (papilionaceous) flowers borne in axillary and terminal panicles. The fruit is a flat, one-seeded, samara-like legume (a winged pod) adapted to wind dispersal, characteristic of the genus Machaerium. It grows in seasonally dry forest, cerrado margins, riverbanks and disturbed open ground.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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