Analysis of Salicaceae Specimens: Populus tremuloides and Dovyalis caffra
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Populus tremuloides and Dovyalis caffra are deciduous trees that come from the Salicaceae or Willow family. Despite the plants belonging to the same family, Populus tremuloides is found in the northern hemisphere in North America and Dovyalis caffra is found in the southern hemisphere in South Africa. Furthermore, each plant has unique characteristics that distinguish it from the other. Populus tremuloides does not produce any fruits, while Dovyalis caffra produces a yellow edible apple. Despite differences in their leaf shape and flower production, both trees are connected by their similar medicinal properties derived from their bark that were used by indigenous communities to treat pain.- By Saja Zidan and Maha Ulhaq
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2022-03-07T14:05:18-08:00
Indigenous communities in North America have a rich history of using the specimens around them to help heal, cure, and comfort individuals suffering from illness. One plant that was used throughout North America to treat pain was Populus tremuloides, a tree more commonly known as quaking aspen (Simpson 2010, 55).
While indigenous communities understood the medicinal properties of the plants around them, many settlers to North America were unfamiliar with the medicinal properties of the plants and therefore explored specimens. Collections of explored specimens can be found on online collections like the Consortium of California Herbaria (CCH2). The image shown on the right displays an example of a collected specimen found on CCH2.This specimen was collected and identified as Populus tremuloides by Ray C. Friesner on October 13, 1934 in a seeping marsh along Sugar Creek in Montgomery, Indiana according to the metadata in the bottom right corner and given the catalog number LA00631195 in the UCLA Herbarium collection. The contextual reasons behind this collection process that Freisner took part in is to be as specific as possible in both detailing the collection and identifying the specimen, so it can be easily be located on databases such as CCH2.
The specimen Freisner was able to collect was classified and identified as Populus tremuloides based on the characteristic catkins that grew from the twigs, its round sage colored leaves, and smooth bark. These features that distinguish Populus tremuloides from other trees, especially the catkins, can be seen depicted in materia media like the 1855 chromolithograph by William Dickes (Dickes and Pratt 1855). The catkins depicted in the illustration range in size and length and have been drawn together to help observers like Freisner distinguish the differences between certain Populus species based on the catkins.
Similar detailed collection techniques Freisner used were applied when exploring the Dovyalis caffra specimen found in the UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden in Los Angeles, California. The contextual reason behind the collection process was not to harm the living plant and instead collect from fallen items off the ground at the base of the tree. The specimens that were collected ranged from leaf varieties, twigs, and bark to try to create a comprehensive image of the specimen to compare to Populus tremuloides.
While the Dovyalis caffra specimen does not have catkins like Populus tremuloides and is found in South Africa instead of North America, both specimens are part of the Salicaceae family. The main similarity that categorizes both trees in the same family despite their phenotypic differences is the salicylates found in their bark, a property used to derive aspirin, to treat pain including menstrual cramps, arthritis, and lower back pain. Furthermore, both plants have been used by indigenous communities to treat pain in both North America and South Africa by boiling the bark and making tea to ingest (Anderton 2011, 4). Without considering the medicinal properties of the bark, it would be difficult to connect Populus tremuloides to Dovyalis caffra. However, historical medicinal use of these trees by indigenous communities and specimen collections have aided in connecting these two plants together into the same family.
WORKS CITED
Anderton, Laurel. 2011. “Native American Uses of Native Utah Forest Trees.” Digital Commons, 2211.
Dickes, William and Pratt, Anne. 1855. "Four twigs with catkins, all from named types of poplar or aspen (Populus species)." Wellcome Collection, 24819i.
Simpson, Michael. 2010. “Salicaceae.” Science Direct, 02260.
