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Botanical Museum leaflets, Harvard University.Cambridge, Mass. :Botanical Museum, Harvard University,1932-

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BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMBRIDGx . MASSACHUSEirTs. OcIOBt3R 30, 1977 Vo. 25. No. 7 AN UNUSUAL SPICE FROM OAXACA: THE FLOWERS OF QUARARIBEA FUNEBRIS FREDERIC ROSENGARTEN, JR.* Most spices are to be found in the seeds, buds, fruits, leaves,roots or bark of the spice-producing plant. An extraordinaryexception to this rule is the small, white flower (Plate 28) ofQuararibea funebris (La Llave) Vischer, a majestic, evergreentree (Plate 29) of the Bombacaceae (Silk-cotton family), indig-enous to southeastern Mexico and Guatemala. The dried flow-ers of Q. finebris provide a highly pungent spice, suggestive inaroma of Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl.), Fenugreek (Tri-gonella foenumgraecum L.) or curry powder. This strongfragrance is found also in the fruits and even in the wood of Q.funebris. The genus Quararibea includes about twenty-nine species(Schultes, 1957), all of which are characterized to a greater orlesser degree by this peculiar aroma. The genus is widespreadin the neotropics, comprising shrubs and trees occurring inMiddle America, the West Indies and northern South America.The odor is so persistent that botanical specimens of Q. flne-bris collected in 1841 by Liebmann were highly aromatic whenexamined over a century later (Schultes, 1972). For many centuries, the principal use of the spicy whiteflower of Q. fuinebris has been to add pungency to variouschocolate-flavored beverages in southeastern Mexico. In Oax-aca, the drink is called "tejate"; elsewhere it is known as"'pozonque," "pozonqui," or "pozol." Quararibea fiunebrisitself has various local names in Mexico: in Oaxaca I found it iscalled "rosita de cacao," or in the Zapotec tongue "yieb-die."*Research Fellow in Economic Botany.Published ten times annually by the Bot. Mus. of H.U. Cambridge. Massachusetts 02138. Printedby Harvard University Printing Office. Subscription: $20.00 a year, net, postpaid. Orders should bedirected to Secretary of Publications at the above address. Application to mail at Second-ClassPostage Rates is pending in Boston. Mass.

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In Chiapas it is known as "flor de cacao" or "molinillo"; inPuebla and Veracruz. "palo copado" or "madre de cacao": inthe Nahuatl dialect, "cacahoaxochitl" (Pennington & Saruk-han, 1968). When the Spanish came to Mexico in the sixteenth century,they found three important spices indigenous to that country:the chili peppers (Capsicumn annum L. and C. fj'rulescens L.),vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Andr.), and allspice (Pimnenta dioicaL.). These flavoring agents were destined to become highlypopular condiments throughout the world (Rosengarten, 1973).Yet Q. fihnehris, for some puzzling reason, never became popu-lar or even known outside of a limited region in MiddleAmerica. This minor spice had been mentioned, to be sure, bythe renowned Spanish chronicler. Sahagtin, during his six-teenth-century travels in Mexico: "There are also other treescalled caauuaxIchitl which bear flowers . . . like jasmine andhave a very delicate but pungent fragance." While the world-wide consumption of vanilla in 1976 wasmore than 3,000,000 pounds, of allspice over 5,000,000 pounds,and of chili peppers more than 150,000,000 pounds, the totalconsumption of the highly aromatic flowers of Q.,flnebris wasinsignificant, probably less than 20,000 pounds, and this usewas for the most part limited to southeastern Mexico (Plates 30and 31). In the pleasant Zapotec valley of Oaxaca, 10 kilometersnortheast of Oaxaca City, there lies a sleepy village called SanAndres Huayapan. Ordinarily Huayapan, elevation 5,900 ft.,consisting of a church and a few scattered adobe homes, wouldnot be especially worthy of note. The village is unusual, how-ever, in that some two dozen trees of Q. fjnhebris may be foundgrowing in and around it. The largest is about 50 feet tall, withthe lowest branches spreading to a diameter roughly equal to itsheight (Plate 29). This magnificent tree, said to be 120 yearsold, characterized by its conical symmetry and dense foliage, isgrowing in the back yard of a local, indigenous family. Itsabundant flowers provide most of this humble family's annualincome. The flowering takes place all year long, although it isespecially prevalent during the rainy season, between May andAugust. The flowers, having been dried on mats in the sun 184 �

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(Plate 32), are sold in small lots every Saturday throughout theyear as "rosita de cacao" in the market at Oaxaca City (Plate33). The local price, although somewhat difficult to calculate,comes out roughly to U.S. $1.50 a pound. The volume of salesis small. There are no commercial plantings ofQ. finehris treesin the Oaxaca region. When a young tree is planted, it requiresat least five or six years before any noticeable flowering oc-curs. The popular chocolate-flavored beverage called "tejate" isproduced in Huayapan in the following manner: first, thenecessary ingredients are collected, starting with corn whichhas been boiled with firewood ashes and which is known as"conesli." Dried flowers ofQ. jinebris are required, as well ascocoa seeds and a few mamey nuts (Plate 34). These ingred-ients are roasted separately on a "comal", or flat earthenwarepan (Plate 35). The ingredients are then ground up separatelyon a primitive "piedra moler" or grindstone (Plate 36). In thecase of the cocoa beans, the aromatic outer skin (the partutilized) is carefully peeled off prior to grinding. A doughymass is now formed by kneading and mixing together the fourground-up ingredients. Cold water and sugar are added, as thelight brown liquid is vigorously stirred until a froth is developed(Plates 37, 38 and 40). It is said that this sticky foam, whichfloats on top of the "tejate" (a cold, cocoa-like drink), is due tothe presence of the Q. jiunebris flowers - hence the name"rosita de cacao" or "flor de cacao." "Tejate" is indeed arefreshing, invigorating beverage, popular with field workersduring the harvest of the corn crop.In Mexican herbal medicine, various therapeutic uses areattributed to Q. fnebris (Monografias Cientificas II. 1976): (1)the fruits may be used as an antipyretic to control and allayfevers: (2) the flowers may be used in the treatment ofpsychopathic fears; and (3) the flowers may be utilized toregulate menstruation.In the Oaxaca region, a popular Zapotec cough remedy isprepared by adding 5 "rosita de cacao" flowers and I cinna-mon stick to V2 liter of boiling water.The following chemical analysis of approximately 7 ouncesof flowers of Q. fiunebris from Oaxaca, was reported by Stras- 185 �

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burger & Siegel, Inc.. chemists and foodtimore, Maryland, on January 20, 1977: REPORT pH of 10(Y SuspensionMoisture Content (at 7)C in vacuo) Steam Distillable Volatile OilTotal Oils (Ether Extract)Volatile Oils (Ether Extract)Fixed Oils (Ether Extract) ANALYSIS oF 1EfiER EXTRACTSGlucosides (Acid Ether Extract)Fats and Waxes (Acid Ether Extract)Principle Aromatics (Aroma and Oils) (Acid Ether Extract)Alkaloidal Compounds (Basic Ether Extract)Oils and Resins (Basic Ether Extract)Resins Insoluble in Acid and Basic Ether Extract technologists of Bal- 6.2';8.57'0.57'2.16'I0.13'2.03"' 0.02% 0.59%( 0.95';0.23C; 0.09•Total Recovery

The botanical history of this plant is simple, with apparentlyonly three binomials ever having been applied to the concept. The combination under Quararihea is sometimes attributedto Standley [Rivera M. in An. Inst. Biol. (Mexico) 13 (1942)502], who actually did indicate this as a new combination in1923. Vischer's publication of 1919, however, has priority. Quararibea funebris (La Llave) Vischer in Bull. Soc. Bot.Geneve, ser II, 11 (1919) 205, t.p. 205 (11.). Lexarza jrfnehris. La Llave ex La Llave et Lexarza, Nov.Veg. Desc., fasc. 2 (1825) 7. Myrocdia. fnehris (La Llave) Bentham in Journ. Linn. Soc. 6(1862) 115. "Tree, often 20 meters high, with broad dense crown: leavesoval or elliptic, short-petiolate, 13 to 40 cm. long, obtuse toacuminate, rounded at base, glabrous except for the tufts ofhairs in the axils of the veins beneath; flowers short-pedicel- 186 2.16'( - 1.91 �

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late; calyx bracteolate, tomentulose; petals pure white, linearoblong, the slender claws as long as the calyx; stamen tubetwice as long as the calyx; fruit subglobose". (Standley, 1923). According to Standley, this species is reported from Oaxacaand Veracruz, Mexico, and occurs also in Guatemala and ElSalvador. A map presented by Pennington and Sarukhain (1968)indicates that the tree ranges disjuctively in northern Veracruz,northeastern Oaxaca, northern Chiapas into Guatemala alongthe Pacific coast of Chiapas. None of these sources indicatesthat the type locality is in Puebla, although Izticar deMatamoros, the type locality, is in the State of Puebla. Thelocality of my collection from Huayapan, near Oaxaca City,also appears to be outside of the ranges noted by the aboveauthorities. Consequently, we must presume that the distribu-tion of the tree is wider than hitherto indicated in the literature.We must remember, however, that the trees in Izticar and

Huayapan were cultivated. Therefore, these and trees reportedfrom other localities outside of the natural range of the species,may have been taken by man from the areas where it is wild andplanted for their usefulness and beauty elsewhere. The collection upon which this article is based (FredericRosencgarten, Jr. s. n., Jlulv 16, 1977, HIuayapan, Oaxaca,Mexico) has been deposited in the Botanical Museum of Har-vard University. An early and interesting illustration of Q. funebris is repro-duced herein (Plate 39); this drawing was made by a primitiveMexican artist during the last quarter of the sixteenth century.The artist's intention was to portray the cacthoaxochitl treewith Indians gathering flowers. As sometimes occurs in primi-tive art, the relative proportions are not realistic in that the sizeof the flowers - the important part - is highly exaggerated.(Drawn as an illustration for the Historia g~eneral de /as cosasde Nuevia Espaja of Bernardino de Sahagtin and reproducedfrom the Paso y Troncoso edition, first published in 1905). The curious specific name "funebris" was chosen by theSpanish botanist, Pablo de La Llave (1825), when he heard thatthe local inhabitants of the Mexican village of Izticar, nearPuebla, were accustomed to mourn their dead under the shelterof the thick foliage of the lower branches of a cacahoaxochitl 187 �

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tree. At the present time, however, the Zapotec Indians in theOaxaca valley do not associate the tree, Q. fnnehris withmourning the deceased or with death. Possibly the folk connec-tion of Q. fJnebris with the idea of life and death may beattributed to the fact that this vigorous tree is evergreen. It isnot uncommon in primitive societies to associate trees whichdo not shed their leaves at one time with the concept of ever-lasting life. With increasing emphasis on natural, rather than syntheticflavorings, the long-neglected, highly aromatic flowers of Q.fiinebris may some day become more important in the worldspice trade. Furthermore, the handsome, conical, evergreen tree,characterized by its symmetry and abundant foliage, might beof interest for planting in southern Florida, southern Californiaand Hawaii - as an attractive, ornamental shade tree forparks, gardens and homes. Upon my return from Oaxaca inJuly 1977. seeds of Q. finebris were sent to the FairchildTropical Garden, Miami, Florida and to the Royal Botanic

Gardens, Kew, England. These may represent the first intro-ductions of Q. funebris to the horticultural world. ACKNOWLEDGMENT I wish to express my appreciation to Miss Bodil Christensenof Oaxaca, Mexico, for her helpful orientation in locating Q.finehris trees in Huayapan; and to Dr. Richard Evans Schultesfor his thoughtful editorial guidance. Illustrations: Plates 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 40 byLynn Rosengarten; plates 30 and 31 by Elmer W. Smith. 188 �

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LITERATURE CITED Instituto Mexicano para el Estudio de las Plantas Medicinales. 1976. (Ed.) Jose Luis Diaz. Usos de las Plantas Medicinales de Mex/ico. Monografias Cientificas II. Pennington, T. D. & Sarukhan, Jose. 1968. Arholes Tropicales de Mexico. United Nations, F. A. 0. y Jose Sarukhan. Mexico. Rosengarten, Frederic. Jr. 1973. The Book of Spices. Pyramid Books, New York. Schultes, Richard Evans. 1957. The genus Quararihea in Mexico and the use of its flowers as a spice for chocolate. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University. Vol. 17, No. 9, 247-264. S 1972. Quararibea funebris: A curious spice for chocolate drinks. The Bulletin, The Horticultural Society of New York. Vol. Ill, No. 4, 1-4. Standley, Paul C. 1923. Trees and Shrubs of Mexico. Smithsonian Institu- tion. United States National Museum. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Vol. 23, Part 3. 787-789. 189

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PLAIT 28 Plate 28. White flower ofl)Qurauribhcr a /u hlri., approximately 1 in2 in length. 190 �

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PLATE 29 Plate 29. 120-year old tree ofQiuararibea funehris growing at H uayapan, nearOaxaca, Mexico. Approximately 50 ft. tall. �

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PLATE 30

0 P .' O j VN N 192 �

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PLATE 31 QUARARIBEAfunebris (LHave) 193 _ _ __ ___ �

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PLATE 32 Plate 32. Drying flowers of Quararibea funeris on a straw mat at H uayapan.

194 �

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PLATE 33 Plate 33. Every Saturday throughout the year, the flowers of Quarariheafunehris and the beverage "tejate" are sold in the market at Oaxaca (seewoman at left). 195 �

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PLATE 34 TI;f 1 ..~ i ... .- "ff- < ** k!",^ * :AMP: Plate 34. Ingredients used in the preparation of tejate at Huayapan: left,roasted mnamey nuts; top, cocoa beans; foreground, corn; and on top of leaf,roasted flowers of Quararihba fiinchris.

196 i! a `xl �

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PLATE 35 Plate 35. Roasting the ingredients for tejate. 197 �

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PLA TE 36 <., V V - *' "\v.*.C* * Plate 36. Grinding the ingredients for tejate.

198 �

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PLATE 37 Plate 37. A bowl of fresh tejate, ready for drinking. The sticky froth on top ofthis chocolate-flavored beverage is due to the mucilage in the flowers ofQuararihtea fnehrris: hence the names "flor de cacao." or "rosita de cacao. 199 *r ; �

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PLATE 38 ^^^ " 4 , Plate 38. In foreground, fruit, flowers and leaves of Quarariha funehris: inbackground, a howl of tejate. 200

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PLATE 39 Plate 39. Quararibea funebri.s reproduced from the Paso y Troncoso editionof Bernardino de Sahagun: Historia general de las cosas de Nueva Espaca. 201 �

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PIATE 40 Plate 40. Bud, flower, fruit and seed (in husk) of Qurrurihba /fuinhri.. 202 �