Hamelia patens (Rubiaceae)

Common name:

Humming bird bush, fire bush and scarlet bush.

Distribution:

This plant is native to American tropical and subtropical zones. It naturally existing in Florida and
also native to Southern United States, Argentina, Bahamas and Caribbean.

Habit:

It is a vast evergreen perennial shrub or small tree.

Habitat:

It is existing in exposed areas, lower foothills of Puerto, from sea level to 600 meter even grow in
warmer climates and temperate regions.

Morphological description:

Leaves are simple, light to dark green. Whorled foliage is elliptic to oval, 6 inches long, abaxial
leaf surface, leaf venation and petioles are reddish and medium texture. Terminal, flowers arrayed
in terminal clusters called cymes, collar tubular and elongated. Orange red colored flower. Bark is
smooth and grey, inner bark is light green. Typically multi trunked. Fruits are oval, black and berry
like and also sphere-shaped and ovate which fascinates birds.

Uses:

Stems and leaves use in tanning leather. It is also used in pragmatic treatment of pain, healing
sores, stop bleeding, pimples, and malaria. It is also used to evaluate toxicity and antinociceptive
effects of ethanolic extracts of H. patens leaves. Useful due to its antifungal and antibacterial
properties.
Leaf epidermis:

Anomocytic type of stomata are observed in the leaves of Hamelia patens.

Bark:

Bark is smooth and grey, inner bark is light green.

Pollen:

The pollens of Hamelia patens are spheroidal, tripolate.

Pigments:

It is having a high amount of active phytochemicals both alkaloids and flavonoids. Isopteropodine,
rumberine, pteropodine, palmirine and maruquine are five oxindole alkaloids which have extracted
from the Hamelia patens till a day. Apigenin, ephedrine, flavanones, isomaruquine, narirutin,
rosmarinic acid, rutin, seneciophylline, speciophylline, tannin and Stigmast-4-ene- 3,6-dione also
present in considerable amount.