Krameria cistoidea
Encyclopedia
Krameria cistoidea is a perennial shrub in the plant family Krameriaceae. The biological action of genus members is caused by the astringent
Astringent
An astringent substance is a chemical compound that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues, usually locally after topical medicinal application. The word "astringent" derives from Latin adstringere, meaning "to bind fast"...

 rhataniatannic acid, which is similar to tannic acid
Tannic acid
Tannic acid is a specific commercial form of tannin, a type of polyphenol. Its weak acidity is due to the numerous phenol groups in the structure...

. Members of Krameria are found across the Americas, with most native to the tropical regions. An example occurrence is in the Cerro La Campana
Cerro La Campana
Cerro la Campana, the Bell mountain, is a mountain in La Campana National Park in central Chile.The Pacific and the mountain Aconcagua are visible from the summit on clear days....

 of central Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, where it is found in association with the Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis. They are perennial shrubs which act as root parasites on other plants. The flowers have glands called elaiophores which produce a lipid which is collected by bees of the genus Centris
Centris
The genus Centris contains over 110 species of large apid bees occurring from Kansas to Argentina. A number of these bees possess adaptations for carrying floral oils rather than pollen or nectar....

as they pollinate the flowers.

See also

  • Krameria argentea - para rhatany
  • Krameria grayi
    Krameria grayi
    Krameria bicolor is a perennial shrub or subshrub of the family Krameriaceae, the Rhatanies. It is commonly known as white rhatany, crimson-beak, and chacate in Spanish...

    - white rhatany
  • Krameria ixine
    Krameria ixine
    Krameria ixine is a perennial shrub of the family Krameriaceae, the Rhatanies. It is found in Puerto Rico, Haiti, Netherlands Antilles, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Central America, and in South America, in Guyana, Venezuela, and Colombia.-References:***;...

    - abrojo colorado
  • Krameria lanceolata - trailing krameria
  • Krameria triandra - Peruvian rhatany
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