Alchornea glandulosa is a treespecies of the Acalyphoideaenative to South America, growing for example in southern Brazil from Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul. It is locally known as tamanqueiro, tapiá or amor seco. This gnarled tree grows preferentially in riparian forest, where it a common pioneer species growing to a height of 10–20 m. It is essentially evergreen, though in the hot austral summer months there is a more pronounced changeover of leaves, and branches are denuded to some extent. The fruit is about 8.7 mm long by 5.9 mm wide on average, and contains one round seedmeasuring about 4.45 mm in diameter; very rarely a second seed develops. This sticks out of an aril at the fruit's tip; when ripe, the seedcoat turns bright red and the fruit somewhat resembles that of a yew with a larger and more prominent seed. Fruit ripen in the summer months, roughly between September/October and December/January in S Brazil, and as the trees bear less leaves at that time than otherwise, the bright red fruit are easily spotted. can be obtained from A. glandulosa This tree is often cut down for timber, but it is also useful as a honey plant. Also, its leaves contain compounds of medical interest. In folk medicine, Alchornea species are used to treat assorted skin diseases, diarrhea, inflammations, leprosy and rheuma. Scientific studies have confirmed most of these effects, and also found extracts of certain species to kill offtrypanosoma, some bacteria and fungi, and cancer cells; the latter properties have also been tested in A. glandulosa. Compounds of interest in A. glandulosa include the phytosterolsβ-sitosterol and stigmasterol, the terpenoidloliolide, the guanidinealkaloid N-1,N-2,N-3-triisopentenylguanidine, and the phenolic compoundcorilagin. Given the fruit's attractive color and the conspicuous display at the branch-tips, this tree appears to be distributed by birds which eat the fruit and spread the seeds. Perching birds, namely tanagers, thrushes and tyrant flycatchers, are most commonly seen to feed on the fruit. Some birds, such as the silver-beaked tanager, prune off the seedcoat and eat it, discarding the seed, but most swallow the entire fruit. Species such as the swallow tanager and the pale-breasted thrush, but perhaps most of all the sayaca tanager, appear to be particularly fond of them. Indeed, the sayaca tanager will defend richly fruiting A. glandulosa trees against similar-sized birds such as the blue dacnis or the red-eyed vireo. It may be that at least locally, T. sayaca is crucial for the tree's reproduction and survival. A. glandulosa fruit are also significant food of certain migrant birds in their winter quarters. In particular the red-eyed vireo and the white-necked thrush have been noted to be fond of them, and Swainson's flycatchers visit the trees very often too. But as it does not relish the fruits very much, the latter species is perhaps more attracted to insects living on the tree.
