Pilocarpus microphyllus seed (JABORANDI)

LATIN NAME: Pilocarpus microphyllus

COMMON NAME: Jaborandi

In the warm forests of the north-eastern Brazil grows a shrubby tree with a quiet-looking leaf and a very strong chemistry. The jaborandi grows as an upright, evergreen shrub or small tree, reaching up to five metres or so, with the fine, glossy, pinnate leaves of the many oval leaflets and, through the warm months, the small, reddish or brownish flowers in the loose, upright heads, followed by the small, round, dry fruits. The glossy, pinnate leaves give the shrub a neat, evergreen look, and the small flowers and fruits are easy to pass by unless you know what you are looking for. It is a species of the flowering shrub in the rue family, native to the warm forests of the north-eastern Brazil, while it is treasured for its fine, glossy leaves, and it is known as the jaborandi.

The jaborandi belongs to the rue family, Rutaceae, and it is an upright, evergreen shrub or small tree of the warm forests of the north-eastern Brazil, while it is treasured for its fine, glossy leaves, and it is known as the jaborandi. Its leaves are the part that has made it famous, and they carry the strong chemistry that gives the plant its name. It is prized for its fine, glossy, pinnate leaves.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The chemistry of this plant has kept it in the pharmaceutical research for well over a century. The leaves of the jaborandi carry a potent alkaloid, and the compound has been studied and used as a medicine, while the plant itself has been written about in the pharmaceutical and botanical papers. Because the alkaloid is strong and the plant is not a home remedy, the jaborandi is best appreciated as a subject of the scientific study rather than a casual treatment, and the harvesting of the wild leaves has been a matter of the conservation concern. The chemistry of the leaves has been studied for its potency, and the shrub has been looked at for its cultivation as a source of the leaf material. For a shrub with such a powerful chemistry, the jaborandi has a serious and continuing record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the warm garden, the jaborandi is a handsome, glossy-leaved shrub. Its small, reddish or brownish flowers feed the many insects, and its small, round, dry fruits feed the birds, while its fine, glossy, pinnate foliage gives a neat, evergreen presence. Its leaves have a long history of use in the pharmaceutical work of the region, and its fine, glossy form has made it a treasured shrub of the warm garden. The plant is best kept as a subject of study rather than a casual home remedy, and its fine, glossy leaves make it a handsome evergreen for the warm, sheltered corner. The jaborandi is a rewarding shrub for the grower, and for the warm-garden gardener it brings a glossy-leaved evergreen. These seeds are best sown fresh — press them at a shallow depth into pots of rich, moist, free-draining soil, keep the pots in a sheltered, half-shaded spot and never let them dry out, and the first shoots will be up before long.