Cupressus Lusitanica Mill. CUPRESSACEAE

Cupressus lusitanica Mill. CUPRESSACEAE

Rainer W. Bussmann, Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana, and Grace N. Njoroge

Synonyms

Cupressus lusitanica Mill.: Callitropsis lusitanica (Mill.) D.P. Little; Cupressus benthamii Endl.; Cupressus benthamii var. knightiana (Perry ex Gordon) Mast.; Cupressus benthamii var. lindleyi (Klotzsch ex Endl.) Mast.; Cupressus glauca Lam.; Cupressus knightiana Perry ex Gordon; Cupressus lindleyi Klotzsch ex Endl.; Cupressus lindleyi var. hondurensis (Silba) Silba; Cupressus lusitanica var. benthamii (Endl.) Carrière; Cupressus lusitanica var. hondurensis Silba; Cupressus lusitanica var. knightiana Rehder; Cupressus lusitanica var. lindleyi (Klotzsch ex Endl.) Franco; Hesperocyparis lusitanica (Mill.) Bartel

R. W. Bussmann (*) Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Saving Knowledge, La Paz, Bolivia e-mail: [email protected] N. Y. Paniagua-Zambrana Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Saving Knowledge, La Paz, Bolivia Herbario Nacionál de Bolivia, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia G. N. Njoroge Department of Botany, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 371 R. W. Bussmann (ed.), Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Africa, Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38386-2_54 372 R. W. Bussmann et al.

Fig. 1 Cupressus sp. (Cupressaceae), Tbilisi, Georgia. (Photo R.W. Bussmann and N.Y. Paniagua-Zambrana)

Local Names

Cupressus lusitanica: Kikuyu: Mutarakwa (Gachati 1989).

Botany and Ecology

Cupressus lusitanica Mill: Evergreen tree, up to 35 m high, with a dense, conical crown. Branches spread out widely but terminate in pendulous branchlets. Trunk short, 70 cm in diameter. Bark reddish-brown, exfoliating in long, narrow strips, eventually becoming roughened by the development of many short cracks. Branchlets covered with small, decussate, adpressed, acute, sessile, scale leaves with ﬂexed tips. The distinctly bluish-green foliage is ovate, closely pressed, usually with long, pointed apex. Male ﬂowers small, oblong or cylindrical; female subglobose, very small, composed of 6–14 fertile decussate scales with several ovules each. Cones ellipsoid; bluish-green when young turning reddish-brown when mature; 13–25 mm in diameter; composed of 6–12 woody, shield-like scales, each bearing 8–10 seeds; male cones appear to be fat tips to branchlets and produce clouds of yellow pollen; female cones rounded, scales with central pointed projections. Seeds brown, with resin glands, up to 4 mm long, with a narrow wing (Macbride and Weberbauer 1936–1995;Wuetal. 1994–2013). Very common plantation tree around the globe (Figs. 1 and 2).

Local Medicinal Uses

Cupressus lusitanica: Green parts are used to treat vaginal hemorrhages, general bleeding, acne, and hair loss (Bussmann and Sharon 2006). Fresh leaves are boiled, and the extract is drunk to treat diarrhea (Yineger and Yewhalaw 2007). Cupressus lusitanica Mill. 373

Fig. 2 Cupressus sp. (Cupressaceae), Tbilisi, Georgia. (Photo R.W. Bussmann and N.Y. Paniagua-Zambrana)

Local Handicraft and Other Uses

Cupressus lusitanica: The leaf smoke is used as insect repellent (Karunamoorthi et al. 2009; Tabuti 2008), and it is also used as incense in social settings (Mohagheghzadeh and Faridi 2006). It is used as live fence and multipurpose timber tree (Mekonnen et al. 2015).

References

Bussmann RW, Sharon D. Traditional plant use in Northern Peru: tracking two thousand years of healing culture. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2006;2:47. Gachati FN. Kikuyu botanical dictionary. Nairobi: AMREF; 1989. Karunamoorthi K, Ilango K, Endale A. Ethnobotanical survey of knowledge and usage custom of traditional insect/mosquito repellent plants among the Ethiopian Oromo ethnic group. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009;125:224–9. Macbride JF, Weberbauer A. Flora of Peru. Chicago: Field Museum; 1936–1995. Mekonnen T, Giday M, Kelbessa K. Ethnobotanical study of homegarden plants in Sebeta-Awas District of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia to assess use, species diversity and management practices. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2015;11:64. Mohagheghzadeh A, Faridi P. Medicinal smokes. J Ethnopharmacol. 2006;108:161–84. 374 R. W. Bussmann et al.

Tabuti JRS. Herbal medicines used in the treatment of malaria in Budiope county, Uganda. J Ethnopharmacol. 2008;116:33–42. Wu Z, Raven PH, Hong D, editors. Flora of China. St. Louis: Science Press, Beijing & Missouri Botanical Garden Press; 1994–2013. Yineger H, Yewhalaw D. Traditional medicinal plant knowledge and use by local healers in Sekoru District, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2007;3:24.