Mimosa Tenuiflora
In Brazil it is known as Jurema. In Mexico it is also called the skin tree, because it has important antimicrobial, analgesic and cell regenerating properties in its bark. The Mayans of Mexico in pre-Hispanic times called it "Tepezcohuite" that comes from the Nahuatl tepetl-cerro and cuahuitl-tree, "hill tree." This tree, was used by the Maya for more than 10 centuries as a cure for skin diseases, as a cell regenerator and for the treatment of injuries for more than a thousand years, popularly known as “the tree whose skin becomes dust that heals wounds”, and its traditional use, has transcended to the present day through the Traditional medicine of the Maya.
This species is used worldwide as an object of medical, pharmacological, preclinical and clinical research on the healing effect, antibiotic and regenerative effectiveness of epithelial cells, for the elaboration of different medicinal products and standardized extracts in sophisticated formulas in the case. of cosmetic, medical and entheogenic products, as well as in recent years it has been popularly used as an important element for the preparation of modern analogs of yage or ayahuasca.
At present, with the worldwide rise of psychotherapy and modern and alternative medicine, there is a growing international demand for the root bark of Mimosa hostilis. It is urgent that information on the adequate management and conservation of this resource of great historical, cultural and medicinal value be disseminated.
The self-sustainable use of the species should be chosen by promoting its care through reproduction and reforestation.