native uses which have concentrated primarily on the utilization 
of the wood of several species. 
Virtually no chemical studies on any of the Colombian species 
of Weinmannia have apparently been reported. Nor have 
medicinal uses been noted for representatives of this genus in the 
northern Andes (Perez-Arbelaez, E.: Plantas Utiles de Colombia 
(1956); Perez-Arbelaez, E.: Plantas Medicinales y Venenosas de 
Colombia (1975); Garcia-Barriga, H.: Plantas Medicinales de 
Colombia (1974)). 
Tannins appear to be common in the bark and leaves of all 
species investigated (Gibbs, R. D.: Chemotaxonomy of Flower- 
ing Plants 2 (1974) 769). An African species of Cunonia—C. 
capensis L.—has a high concentration in its wood (Hegnauer: 
loc. cit.). 
The bark of several species of Weinmannia valued in Africa 
and South America in tanning. The bark of W. pinnata L. has a 
very astringent bark and excretes a gum used in Cuba as an 
adulterant of quinine. Similarly, the bark of W. Selloi Engl. 1S 
notably astringent and is employed in Brazil to treat wounds 
(Uphof, J. C. T.: Dictionary of Economic Plants (1968) 550). It 
is interesting to note that several of the native uses reported 
below for Colombia may be related to the astringency of 
Weinmannia. 
Coumarin and the triterpenoids epifriedelinol and friedelin 
are reported from Ceratopetalum, a cunoniaceous genus, and 
the flavonol kaempferol occurs in Cunonia capensis (Gibbs: loc. 
cit. 1 (1974) 444, 589; 2 (1974) 848, 850). Aluminum accumula- 
tion is common in some species of the Cunoniaceae (Gibbs: loc. 
cit. 3 (1974) 1647). 
The Brunelliaceae are chemically even less known than the 
Cunoniaceae (Hegnauer: loc. cit. 306; Gibbs: loc. cit. 3 (1974) 
1616). f!wo Colombian species of Brunellia—B. comocladifolia 
Tul. and B. Steubelii Hieron., both known vulgarly as yucc 
rifidn—are reputedly valued as febrifuges (Perez-Arbelaez: loc. 
cit. 243). 
248 
