Schinopsis balansae

Schinopsis balansae
Source: Libro del Árbol, Tome II, Celulosa Argentina S. A., Buenos Aires, Argentina. Credit: Mr. Jorge Vallmitjana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Schinopsis
Species: S. balansae
Binomial name
Schinopsis balansae
Engl.

Schinopsis balansae is a hardwood tree known as willow-leaf red quebracho[1] which forms forests in the subtropical Gran Chaco ecoregion of north-eastern Argentina, and Paraguay. It is also found in the wild Pantanal vegetation in Brazil. Some of its vernacular names are quebracho colorado chaqueño and quebracho santafesino. Other species, like Schinopsis lorentzii, bear the general name quebracho and have similar properties and uses. S. balansae shares its habitat with a species of the same genus, S. heterophylla, and the two are often confused.

This tree can reach 24 metres in height and more than one metre in diameter. Its trunk is straight, with a brownish-gray bark. Its wood is extremely heavy (relative density = 1.2). Its main use is the extraction of quebracho extract, which is 63% pure tannin.

The tree was declared Argentina's "National Forest Tree" in 1956.[2]

Chemistry

Leuco-fisetinidin, a flavan-3,4-diol (leucoanthocyanidin) and a monomer of the condensed tannins called profisetinidins, can be extracted from the heartwoods of S. balansae.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "USDA GRIN Taxonomy". Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "Declárase "Arbol Forestal Nacional" al (Schinopsis Balansea Engl) "Quebracho colorado chaqueño"" (in Spanish). Secretaría de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable de la Nación. 1956-08-21. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  3. ↑ Condensed Tannins - The isolation and distribution of interrelated heartwood components of Schinopsis spp.. D.G. Roux and E. Paulus, Biochem. J. (1961) 78, 785, 1961
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