About Schinus areira L.
Schinus areira L. (synonym Schinus molle) is a quick-growing evergreen tree that reaches up to 15 m (50 ft) tall and wide. It is the largest and potentially longest-lived of all Schinus species. Its upper branches typically droop. The tree produces pinnately compound leaves that measure 8–25 cm long by 4–9 cm wide, made up of 19–41 alternate leaflets. This species is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate plants. Its small white flowers grow in large profuse panicles at the ends of drooping branches. The fruit are round drupes 5–7 mm in diameter, containing woody seeds, that turn from green to red, pink, or purplish as they mature. Fruits are carried in dense clusters of hundreds of berries, and can be present on the tree year round. The tree's rough grayish bark is twisted and drips sap; its bark, leaves, and berries are all aromatic when crushed. It is native to the arid zone of northern South America, including Peru's Andean deserts, with its native range extending to central Argentina and central Chile. It has since become widely naturalized across much of the world. This tree produces strong wood that was used to make saddles, and it was a key supply source for saddles in Spanish colonies. It has also been used for spice production, but is mainly planted as an ornamental tree. S. molle is a drought-tolerant, long-lived, hardy evergreen species, and has become a serious invasive weed internationally. For example, in South Africa it has invaded savanna and grasslands, and become naturalized along drainage lines and roadsides in semi-desert. It is also invasive throughout much of Australia, across habitats ranging from grasslands to dry open forest and coastal areas, as well as along railway sidings and on abandoned farms. In traditional medicine, it has been used to treat a variety of wounds and infections, due to its antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It has also been used as an antidepressant and diuretic, and to treat toothache, rheumatism, and menstrual disorders; recent mouse studies have provided possible support for its reported antidepressant effects. Its confirmed insecticidal properties have led to speculation that it could be a good candidate to replace synthetic chemicals for pest control. Bunches of its fresh green leaves are used for shamanic purposes in traditional Mesoamerican cleansing and blessing ceremonies. In the Andean region, its leaves are used to produce natural dye for textiles, a practice that dates back to pre-Columbian times. The Incas used oil extracted from its leaves in early mummification practices to preserve and embalm their dead. This species is also used as a raw material in perfumery. Archaeological evidence shows that the Wari state of the Middle Horizon (600–1000 AD) used S. molle drupes extensively to produce chicha, a fermented alcoholic beverage. Excavations at the Quilcapampa site in southern Peru found evidence that the Wari combined vilca tree (Anadenanthera colubrina) seeds, a hallucinogenic drug, with this chicha. The Inca used the sweet outer layer of ripe fruit to make a drink; berries were rubbed carefully to avoid mixing in the bitter inner portions, the mixture was strained, then left to ferment for a few days to produce the drink. The fruit mixture was also boiled down into syrup, or mixed with maize to make nourishing gruel. In the late 19th century, S. molle was planted widely across California, where it became commonly known as the "California pepper tree". The tree gained romantic associations linked to the state's Spanish missions; by the 1870s, "the pepper tree had become as familiar a visual trope as the padres' sandals and staffs." It was also valued for the shade it provided and its tolerance of semi-arid conditions, so it was planted along new avenues in Southern California cities. A 1911 Los Angeles Times editorial praised the tree: "One of the first features to grip the eastern tourist when visiting this favored winter resort is the wonderful feathery foliage and the gorgeous scarlet berries of this matchless shade tree, giving, as it does, a pleasant air of holiday making and a wealth of tropical color to the Californian landscape...Why, the pepper tree has become an integral part of life in the sunny Southland." However, the species fell out of favor as a street tree in the early 20th century, in part because it hosts black scale, an insect that threatened Southern California's citrus groves. The trees also have roots that tend to break up sidewalks, produce suckers, and interfere with buried telephone lines and sewer pipes. Many of the oldest trees were uprooted, and new street plantings were banned in citrus-growing areas; Los Angeles prohibited new street plantings of the species in 1930. This tree can reproduce via seed, suckers, and cuttings. Its seeds have an especially hard outer coat, and germination rates improve greatly after seeds pass through the gut of birds or other animals. Seeds germinate in spring, and seedlings grow slowly until they become established. Hundreds of seeds can easily germinate under the mother tree in its existing leaf litter, and resulting seedlings can be transplanted easily.
