Rubiaceae
Hamelia

Hamelia patens Jacq.

First published in Enum. Syst. Pl.: 16 (1760)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical & Subtropical America. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders, has environmental uses, as a poison and a medicine and for food.

Distribution

Native to:

Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Florida, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Windward Is.

Introduced into:

Malaya, West Himalaya

Synonyms

Homotypic Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  • Berry, P.E., Yatskievych, K. & Holst, B.K. (eds.) in Steyermark, J., Berry, P.E., Holts, B.K. (eds). (2004). Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana 8: 1-874. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis.
  • Bhellum, B.L. (2012). Flora exotica of Jammu and Kashmir (List- I). Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 36: 33-45.
  • Borhidi, A. (2006). Rubiáceas de México: 1-512. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
  • Borhidi, A. (2012). Rubiáceas de México, ed. 2: 1-608. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
  • Davidse, G. & al. (eds.) (2012). Flora Mesoamericana 4(2): 1-533. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.
  • Delprete, P.G. & Cortés-B., R. (2006 publ. 2007). A synopsis of the Rubiaceae of the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, with a key to genera, and a preliminary species list. Revista de Biologia Neotropical 3: 13-96.
  • Delprete, P.G. (2010). Rubiaceae. Flora dos estados de Goiás e Tocantins 40: 1-1610. Universidade Federal de Goiás.
  • Delprete, P.G., Smith, L.B., Klein, R.M. (2005). Flora Ilustrada Catarinense 2: 349-842. Herbário "Barbosa Rodrigues", Atají, Brasil.
  • Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Hammel, B.E., Grayum, M.H., Herrera, C. & Zamora, N. (eds.) (2014). Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 7: 1-840. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
  • Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.
  • Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., Ortiz, R.D.C., Callejas Posada, R. & Merello, M. (eds.) (2011). Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 1-939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín.
  • Linares, J.L. (2003 publ. 2005). Lista comentado de los árboles nativos y cultivados en la República de El Salvador. Ceiba; a Scientific and Technical Journal Published by Zamorano 44: 105-268.
  • Mendoza, H., Ramirez P., B.R. & Jimenez, L.C. (2004). Rubiaceae de Colombia: guia ilustrada de generos: 1-351. Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogota, Colombia.
  • Oliveira-Filho, A.T. (2006). Catálogo das Árvores nativas de Minas Gerais: 1-423. Editora UFLA, Lavas, Brasil.
  • Pérez-Farrera, M.Á., Martínez-Camilo, R., Martínez-Meléndez, N., Farrera-Sarmiento, O. & Maza-Villalobos, S. (2012). Listado florístico del Cerro Quetzal (Polígono III) de la reserva de la biosfera El Triunfo, Chiapas, México. Botanical Sciences 90: 113-142.
  • Sant'Ana Melhem, T., das Graças Lapa Wanderley, M., Ehlin Martins, S., Jung-Mendaçolli, S.L., Shepherd, G.J. & Kirizawa, M. (eds.) (2007). Flora Fanerogâmica do Estado de São Paulo 5: 1-476. Instituto de Botânica, São Paulo.
  • Wu, Z., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D. (eds.) (2011). Flora of China 19: 1-884. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
  • Zuloaga, F.O. & Zanotti, C.A. (eds.) (2022). Flora Argentina. Flora vascular de la República Argentina 19(3): 1-384. INTA, IMBIV & IBODA.

Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

  • Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

  • Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humbodlt (2014). Plantas alimenticias y medicinales nativas de Colombia. 2567 registros, aportados por: Castellanos, C. (Contacto del recurso), Valderrama, N. (Creador del recurso, Autor), Castro, C. (Proveedor de metadatos), Bernal, Y. (Autor), García, N. (Autor). Versión 11.0. http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=ls_colombia_magnoliophyta_2014
  • Kew’s Economic Botany collection in The State of the World’s Plants Report–2016. (2016). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew https://stateoftheworldsplants.org/2016/

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • (2025). https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg/research/publications/gardens'-bulletin-singapore/-/media/sbg/gardens-bulletin/gbs_77_01_y2025/77_01_03_y2025_v77p1_gbs_pg17.pdf. epublication.
  • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  • Bhellum, B.L. (2012). Flora exotica of Jammu and Kashmir (List- I). Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 36: 33-45.
  • Borhidi, A. (2006). Rubiáceas de México: 1-512. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
  • Gonzalez, F., Nelson Diaz, J. & Lowry, P. (1995). Flora Illustrada de San Andrés y Providencia: 1-281. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Colombia.
  • Ruhsam, M. (2005). Survey of all the Rubiaceae specimens at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Zuloaga, F.O. & Zanotti, C.A. (eds.) (2022). Flora Argentina. Flora vascular de la República Argentina 19(3): 1-384. INTA, IMBIV & IBODA.

Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

  • Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R., & Celis, M. (eds.). (2020). Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia. v1.1. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Dataset/Checklist. https://doi.org/10.15472/7avdhn
  • Castañeda, R.R. (1991). Frutas silvestres de Colombia. Instituto Colombiano de Cultura Hispánica.
  • Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
  • Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
  • FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
  • GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
  • GRIN (2021). Germplasm Resources Information Network from the United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ars-grin.gov/
  • Garcia, H. (1992). Flora Medicinal de Colombia. Botánica Médica. Segunda Edición. Tercer Mundo Editores. Tomo III.
  • IUCN (2021). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.
  • Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humbodlt (2014). Plantas alimenticias y medicinales nativas de Colombia. 2567 registros, aportados por: Castellanos, C. (Contacto del recurso), Valderrama, N. (Creador del recurso, Autor), Bernal, Y. (Autor), García, N. (Autor). http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=ls_colombia_magnoliophyta_2014
  • Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (2019). Lista de especies vedadas por la resolución 213 de 1977. 8256 especies. http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=le_plantaspriorizadas_2019
  • Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt. (2014). Plantas alimenticias y medicinales nativas de Colombia. 2567 registros, aportados por: Castellanos, C. (Contacto del recurso), Valderrama, N. (Creador del recurso, Autor), Bernal, Y. (Autor), García, N. (Autor). http://i2d.humboldt.org.co/ceiba/resource.do?r=ls_colombia_magnoliophyta_2014
  • Jansen, P., Lemmens, R., Oyen, L., Siemonsma, J., Stavast, F. & Van Valkenburg, J. (1991) Plant Resources of South-East Asia. Basic list of species and commodity grouping. Final version. Pudoc, Wageningen.
  • Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/
  • PROTA (2021). Plants Resources of Tropical Africa. https://prota4u.org/database/
  • Plants for malaria, plants for fever: Medicinal species in Latin America, a bibliographic survey: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • RBG, Kew (2021). Kew Economic Botany Collection. https://ecbot.science.kew.org/
  • RBG, Kew (ed.) (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.
  • Willis, K.J. (ed.) (2017). State of the World’s Plants 2017. Report. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Jan 1, 2011 Mello-Silva, R.; Galdames, C.; Freire-Fierro, A.; Tkach, N.; Drescher, A.; Hernandez, F. [3287] Panama K001905294 No
Jan 1, 2008 Sasaki, D.; Milliken, W.; Zappi, D.C.; Nascimento, J. [2177] Brazil K000447969 Yes
Jan 1, 2005 Spruce, R. [6226] Ecuador K000006704 Yes
Jan 1, 2005 Spruce, R. [4188] Peru K000006703 Yes
Aug 15, 2002 Peru K001438496 Yes
Sep 1, 1998 Felix, L.P. [EAN6595] Brazil K000015218 Yes
Sep 1, 1998 Felix, L.P. [4712] Brazil K000015219 Yes
Jun 10, 1994 Colombia K001438535 Yes
Jan 18, 1989 Peru K001438510 Yes
Mar 26, 1973 Ecuador K001438485 Yes
Sep 5, 1962 Panama K001438525 Yes
Jul 31, 1932 Peru K001438522 Yes
Jul 27, 1922 Ecuador K001438469 Yes
Mar 15, 1876 Colombia K001438541 Yes
Jan 1, 1847 Colombia K001438538 Yes
Barreto, S.M. [31] Brazil K001135123 Yes
Demuner, V. [4814] Brazil K001135122 Yes
Irwin, H.S. [11295] Brazil K001135106 Yes
Prance, G.T. [14676] Brazil K001135107 Yes
Imray, J. [67] Dominica K001192439 Yes
Sasaki, D. [2177] Brazil K001135121 Yes
Ule, E. [9116] Brazil K000015217 Yes
Kawall, M.A. [35] Brazil K001135102 Yes
Pengel, H.O. [28] Brazil K001135120 Yes
Chaves, J.L. [583] Costa Rica K001609985 Yes
Silva, M.F. [2369] Brazil K001135114 Yes
Burchell [7405] Brazil K001135105 Yes
Milliken, W. [179] Brazil K001135116 Yes
Hopkins, M.J.G. [652] Brazil K001135108 Yes
Henderson, A. [543] Brazil K001135115 Yes
Fosberg, F.R. [19303] Colombia K001438542 Yes
Stannard, B.L. [669] Brazil K001135117 Yes
Lima, J. [720] Brazil K001135118 Yes
Mexia, Y. [4591] Brazil K001135109 Yes
Weir, J. [77] Brazil K001135113 Yes
Lindeman, J.C. [787] Brazil K001135110 Yes
Zarucchi, J.L.; Cuadros, H. [3863] Colombia K001438549 Yes
Hopkins, M.J.G. [505] Brazil K001135119 Yes
Glocker [148] Brazil K000015221 Yes
Salzmann Brazil K000015216 Yes
Saint-Hilaire, A. [s.n.] Brazil K001135112 Yes
Castro, R.M. [692] Brazil K001135103 Yes
Regnell, A.F. [II 132 1/2] Brazil K001135111 Yes
Noffs, L.B. [45] Brazil K001135104 Yes
de Carvalho, A.M., et al [6699] Brazil K000265094 Yes
Panama K001438454 Yes
Venezuela K001438455 Yes
Venezuela K001438456 Yes
Venezuela K001438457 Yes
Venezuela K001438458 Yes
Venezuela K001438459 Yes
Venezuela K001438460 Yes
Ecuador K001438461 Yes
Ecuador K001438462 Yes
Ecuador K001438463 Yes
Ecuador K001438464 Yes
Ecuador K001438466 Yes
Ecuador K001438467 Yes
Ecuador K001438468 Yes
Ecuador K001438470 Yes
Ecuador K001438471 Yes
Ecuador K001438472 Yes
Ecuador K001438473 Yes
Ecuador K001438474 Yes
Ecuador K001438475 Yes
Ecuador K001438476 Yes
Ecuador K001438477 Yes
Ecuador K001438478 Yes
Ecuador K001438479 Yes
Ecuador K001438480 Yes
Ecuador K001438481 Yes
Ecuador K001438482 Yes
Ecuador K001438483 Yes
Ecuador K001438484 Yes
Ecuador K001438486 Yes
Peru K001438487 Yes
Peru K001438488 Yes
Peru K001438489 Yes
Peru K001438490 Yes
Peru K001438491 Yes
Peru K001438492 Yes
Peru K001438493 Yes
Peru K001438494 Yes
Peru K001438495 Yes
Peru K001438497 Yes
Peru K001438498 Yes
Peru K001438499 Yes
Peru K001438500 Yes
Peru K001438501 Yes
Peru K001438502 Yes
Peru K001438503 Yes
Peru K001438504 Yes
Peru K001438505 Yes
Peru K001438506 Yes
Peru K001438507 Yes
Peru K001438508 Yes
Peru K001438509 Yes
Peru K001438511 Yes
Peru K001438512 Yes
Peru K001438513 Yes
Peru K001438514 Yes
Peru K001438515 Yes
Peru K001438516 Yes
Peru K001438517 Yes
Peru K001438518 Yes
Peru K001438519 Yes
Peru K001438520 Yes
Peru K001438521 Yes
Peru K001438523 Yes
Panama K001438526 Yes
Panama K001438527 Yes
Panama K001438528 Yes
Panama K001438529 Yes
Panama K001438530 Yes
Panama K001438531 Yes
Panama K001438532 Yes
Panama K001438533 Yes
Colombia K001438534 Yes
Colombia K001438536 Yes
Colombia K001438537 Yes
Colombia K001438539 Yes
Colombia K001438540 Yes
Fosberg, F.R. [19303], Colombia K001438542 Yes
Colombia K001438543 Yes
Colombia K001438544 Yes
Colombia K001438545 Yes
Colombia K001438546 Yes
Zarucchi, J.L.; Cuadros, H. [3863], Colombia K001438549 Yes
Colombia K001438550 Yes
Colombia K001438551 Yes
May 5, 1981 Panama Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438552 Yes
Jun 1, 1945 Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438560 Yes
Jun 27, 1935 Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438566 Yes
Krukoff, B.A. [5119] Brazil Hamelia patens var. glabra K001135095 Yes
Saudeman, C. [5569] Colombia Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438557 Yes
Guilding, L.; Vincents, S. [s.n.] Hamelia patens var. glabra K000424381 Unknown Type Material Yes
Purdie [s.n.] Colombia Hamelia patens var. glabra K000424378 Unknown Type Material Yes
Krukoff, B.A. [4710] Brazil Hamelia patens var. glabra K001135097 Yes
Schlim, L. [547] Colombia Hamelia patens var. glabra K000424376 Type Yes
Krukoff, B.A. [5119] Brazil Hamelia patens var. glabra K001135096 Yes
Holton, I.F. [s.n.] Colombia Hamelia patens var. glabra K000424377 Unknown Type Material Yes
Lindeman, J.C. [13240] Brazil Hamelia patens var. glabra K001135098 Yes
Panama Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438553 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438554 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438555 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438556 Yes
Saudeman, C. [5569], Colombia Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438557 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438558 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438559 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438561 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438562 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438563 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438564 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438565 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438567 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438568 Yes
Colombia, Venezuela Hamelia patens var. glabra K001438569 Yes

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Art and Illustrations in Digifolia

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/