{{Short description|Species of plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Ternstroemia sylvatica (1).jpg |image_caption = ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' |genus = Ternstroemia |species = sylvatica |authority = Schltdl. & Cham. |synonyms_ref = <ref name="kew">{{cite web | url = https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:251480-2 | title = ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' Schltdl. & Cham. | website = Plants of the World Online | location = United Kingdom | publisher = Royal Botanic Gardens Kew | access-date = April 20, 2026 }}</ref> |synonyms = {{Species list |Mokof silvatica |(Schltdl. & Cham.) Kuntze |Taonabo sylvatica|(Schltdl. & Cham.) Szyszył. |Ternstroemia elliptica|Choisy }} }} thumb|right|flower from above thumb|right|Immature fruits
'''''Ternstroemia sylvatica''''', with no English name other than '''ternstroemia''' used for all ''Ternstroemia'' species, is a small tree in mountainous parts of Mexico. Currently it belongs to the family Pentaphylacaceae.<ref name="kew" /><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/55HH4 | title = ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' Choisy | date = April 7, 2026 | website = catalogueoflife.org | publisher = Catalogue of Life | access-date = April 21, 2026 }}</ref><ref name="y" />
==Description==
''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' differs from other ''Ternstroemia'' species within its distribution area by its leaves being widest at their middle and flower peduncles being less than {{cvt|1.6|cm|frac=8}} long. Beyond that, it displays the following notable features:<ref name="x">{{cite journal | last = Carranza González | first = Eleazar | title = Theaceae | journal = Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes | volume =73 | pages = 13–15 | publisher = Instituto de Ecología, A.C. (INECOL) | location = Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México | date = June 1999 | language = Spanish | url = http://inecolbajio.inecol.mx/floradelbajio/documentos/fasciculos/ordinarios/Theaceae%2073.pdf | access-date = April 21, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Kobusi | first = Clarence E. | title = Studies in the Theaceae, XIII: Notes on the Mexican and Central American Species of ''Ternstroemia'' | journal = Journal of the Arnold Arboretum | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 464–478 | publisher = Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University | location = Cambridge, MA, USA | date = October 4, 1942 | doi = 10.5962/bhl.part.18685 | jstor = 43781056 | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/43781056 | access-date = April 21, 2026| doi-access = free }}</ref>
*It can grow up to {{cvt|15|m}} high, though normally it's half that. Branch stems are grayish.
*Somewhat leathery, evergreen, hairless leaves with undivided blades arise singly on stems and crowded at the tips of branches. Petioles are up to {{cvt|1.6|cm|frac=8}} long, and blades are up to {{cvt|10|cm|frac=2}} long and up to {{cvt|3.4|cm|frac=4}} wide. Secondary veins are hardly visible.
*Flowers on thick peduncles less than {{cvt|1.6|cm|frac=8}} long arise where leaves attach to stems, either singly or in small clusters. Two rounded bracteoles about {{cvt|2|mm|frac=8}} long at first glance look like large calyx lobes, but the actual calyx consists of 5 rounded, leathery lobes up to {{cvt|7|mm|frac=8}} long of unequal sizes; these conspicuously persist on the developing fruit. Corollas consist of 5 rounded, white petals up to {{cvt|6.5|mm|frac=8}} long. Numerous stamens occupy the flowers' centers.
*Fruits up to {{cvt|2|cm|frac=8}} long are cone to egg shaped, with leathery skin.
NOTE: Published information on mature fruits at the seed dispersal stage of ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' is scant. The ''Flora of China'' reports that fruits of some ''Ternstroemia'' species may split irregularly "... with seeds dangling and probably dispersed by birds." Further, that seeds have a fleshy, red outer layer.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=132484 | title = ''Ternstroemia'' Mutis ex Linnaeus f. In Flora of China | website = efloras.org | location = Beijing and St. Louis, MO, USA | publisher = Science Press and the Missouri Botanical Garden Press | access-date = April 21, 2026 }}</ref> That appears to be what is shown below in the Gallery, which the author describes as red seeds dangling from split-open fruits.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.backyardnature.net/q/ternstro.htm | title = ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' | last = Conrad | first = Jim | date = July 6, 2007 | website = backyardnature.net | access-date = April 21, 2026 }}</ref>
==Distribution==
''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' is endemic just eastern Mexico, mainly in mountains of the Eastern Sierra Madre, the eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and relatively few populations in the northern part of the Southern Sierra Madre.<ref name="y">{{cite journal | display-authors=et al. | last1 = Alvarado-Sizzo | first1 = H | last2 = Luna-Vega | first2 = I | last3 = Arévalo-Marín | first3 = E | title = Spatial genetic diversity and populational differentiation of ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' (Ericales: Pentaphylacaceae) in eastern Mexico | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 20 | issue = e0339000 | date = 2025 | article-number = e0339000 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0339000 | doi-access = free | pmid = 41452863 | pmc = 12742792 }}</ref>
Within this area, ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' occurs in discontinuous patches separated by biogeographic features, the most conspicuous being the high limestone mountains known as ''La Gran Sierra Plegada'', which separates the northernmost population of El Cielo from populations of the Sierra Gorda in northern Querétaro, and the Moctezuma River basin, separating Sierra Gorda populations from the southern Moctezuma River ones.<ref name="y" />
==Habitat==
In central Mexico ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' occurs in mountainous forests with pine, oak and species of ''Cupressus'', and cloud forests, at elevation of 1200-2700 meters (~3950-8850 feet).<ref name="x" />
==Conservation status==
Historical and ongoing human exploitation has fragmented forest areas where ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' occurs. For conservation purposes these regions are considered critical or of medium priority.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Toledo-Aceves | first1 = Tarin | last2 = Meave | first2 = Jorge A. | last3 = González-Espinosa | first3 = Mario | last4 = Ramírez-Marcial | first4 = Neptalí | title = Tropical montane cloud forests: Current threats and opportunities for their conservation and sustainable management in Mexico | journal = Journal of Environmental Management | volume = 92 | issue = 3 | pages = 974–981 | publisher = Elsevier | date = March 2011 | doi = 10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.11.007 | pmid = 21144641 | url = https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030147971000410X | access-date = April 22, 2026| url-access = subscription }}</ref>
==Ecology==
In central Mexico, ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' is very common within its habitats.<ref name="x" /> A study of cloud forests in northeastern Mexico found ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' to be among the most important woody plants, with an Importance Value Index of over 10%.<ref>{{cite journal | display-authors=et al. | last1 = Contreras-Medina | first1 = Raúl | last2 = García-Morales | first2 = Leccinum J. | last3 = Calderón-Patrón | first3 = Jaime M. | title = Floristic composition, structure, and conservation of Mexican beech forests (''Fagus mexicana'': Fagaceae) in Tamaulipas: beta diversity and bioclimatic analysis in Mexico | journal = Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = United Kingdom | date = April 7, 2026 | article-number = boaf114 | issn = 1095-8339 | doi = 10.1093/botlinnean/boaf114 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
Throughout the distribution area of ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' flowers and fruits are collected for medicinal purposes.<ref name="y" /> Apparently no studies have evaluated how such extraction may affect the long-term survival of natural populations.
==Traditional medicine==
In Mexico, ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' is used in traditional medicine for treating sleep and anxiety disorders. Three flowers are soaked in a cup of water, and a cup is drunk three times daily.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/fmim/termino.php?l=4&p=triqui&cr=33&t=flor-tila&id=1313 | title = Flora Medicinal Triqui de la Laguna Guadalupe, Putla, Oax. Nej Xi´nin Coj Gono´o Ma Xuma´ Du´va Dahue´e | website = Flora Medicinal Indígena de México | language = Spanish | location = Mexico City, Mexico | publisher = Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México | access-date = April 22, 2026 }}</ref> In the state of Veracruz, leaves are mashed and used to make alcoholic cataplasms for treating inflammations and rheumatic processes. A study confirmed that ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' is an iimporant anti-inflammatory and analgesic plant.<ref>{{cite journal | display-authors=et al. | last1 = Moreno-Quirós | first1 = Claudia V. | last2 = Sánchez-Medina | first2 = Alberto | last3 = Vázquez-Hernánez | first3 = Maribel | title = Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive potential of ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' Schltdl. & Cham | journal = Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine | date = 2017 | volume = 10 | issue = 11 | pages = 1047–1053 | publisher = Elsevier | doi = 10.1016/j.apjtm.2017.10.007 | pmid = 29203100 | url = https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjtm.2017.10.007 | access-date = April 22, 2026| doi-access = free }}</ref>
===Toxic effects===
On mice, clinical effects of extracts of ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' indicate that extracts of the fruits show toxicity activity.<ref>{{cite journal | display-authors=et al. | last1 = Balderas-López | first1 = José Luis | last2 = Alfaro-Romero | first2 = Alejndro | last3 = Monroy | first3 = Amor | title = Toxic rather than neuropharmacological effect of ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' fruits and identification of 28-O-[β-l-6-rhamnopyranosyl]-R<sub>1</sub>-barrigenol as a new compound with toxic effects in mice | journal = Pharmaceutical Biology | volume = 51 | doi = 10.3109/13880209.2013.799706 | pmid = 23862771 | url = https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/13880209.2013.799706 | access-date = April 22, 2026}}</ref>
==Taxonomy==
In 1830 when Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal and Adelbert von Chamisso formally described ''Ternstroemia sylvatica'', they based their description on plants collected by Christian Julius Wilhelm Schiede and Ferdinand Deppe, who settled in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The description includes a note that the specimens examined had been collected in the forests between Jalapa and San Andres, the latter presumably San Andrés Tuxtla. Also they had material from near San Miguel del Soldado, which must be the one in Veracruz's municipality of Rafael Lucio.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Schlechtendal | first1 = D. F. L. von | last2 = Chamisso | first2 = Ad. de | chapter=Plantarum Mexicanrum a cel, viris Schiede et Deppe Collectrum. Recensio Brevis | editor-last =Schlechtendal | editor-first =D. F. L. von | title = Linnaea: Ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange | volume = 5 | date = 1830 | location = Berlin | pages = 220–221 | language = German, Latin | url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/96228}}</ref>
===Etymology===
The genus name ''Ternstroemia'' honors Christopher Tärnström, a Swedish botanist who died in 1746.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ternstroemia | title = Ternstroemia noun | website = merriam-webster.com | publisher = Merriam-Webster, Incorporated | access-date = April 22, 2026 }}</ref>
The species name ''sylvatica'' is a Latin adjecive meaning "pertaining to the forest, of or belonging to the forest, growing wild."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.mobot.org/mobot/latindict/keyDetail.aspx?keyWord=sylvaticus | title = sylvaticus,-a,-um (adj.A) | last = Eckel | first = P.M. | website = A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin | location = St. Louis, MO, US | publisher = Missouri Botanical Garden | access-date = April 22, 2026 }}</ref>
==Gallery==
<gallery> File:Ternstroemia sylvatica (3).jpg|''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' flower side view File:Ternstroemia sylvatica (5).jpg|''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' cross section of ovary File:Ternstroemia sylvatica (6).jpg|''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' red seeds dangling from fruit File:Ternstroemia sylvatica (7).jpg|''Ternstroemia sylvatica'' gray stem with petioles File:Ternstroemia sylvatica (8).jpg|''Ternstroemia sylvatica'', photographing small tree in habitat </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15393976}}
sylvatica Category:Endemic flora of Mexico Category:Plants described in 1830 Category:Taxa named by Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal Category:Taxa named by Adelbert von Chamisso