Gen info
- Triplaris is a genus of plants in the family Polygonaceae.  Ant tree is a common name for plants in the genus. (3)
- Hazards: The terminal branches are pubescent and hollow.  They are inhabited by very aggressive ants of the genus Pseudomymex (P. triplaridis) that live symbiotically in the hollow of the trunk and branches, which can descend in hordes and aggressively attack any creature on the trunk. (4)
- Etymology: The genus name Triplaris means "triplicate", referring to the number of  flower petals, six; the number of stamens, nine; and number of flower columns, three - all of which are triplicates. The specific epithet cumingiana honors the English botanist Dr. Hugh Cuming.

Botany
• A small tree growing to 15 m tall, the upper branches usually glabrous, reddish to grayish brown. The leaves are subsessile to petiolate, with canaliculate petioles up to 2 cm long; leaves oblong, most 2.5–4 times as long as wide, 15–25 (–30) cm long, 4–9 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, basally rounded to acute. Staminate inflorescences of fascicles forming compact spikes up to 1 cm wide. Pistillate flowers on pedicels 2.5–9 mm long, the sepals becoming 30–50 mm long, the free wings 2–3 times as long as the tubes; wings oblanceolate. (3)

Distribution
- Naturalized. (2)
- In Luzon: Rizal; Negros.
- Ornamental cultivation.
- Also cultivated for its wood.
- Native to Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá, Peru, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela. (1)

Constituents
- Study of young leaves of T. cumingiana isolated three new compounds, 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl-4,6-bis-O-beta-D-(3,4,5trihydroxybenzoyl)glucopyranoside (1), 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl-5-O-alpha-L-(3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoyl) arabino-furanoside (2), and 2-hydroxy-4-O-alpha-L-(3,5,7-trihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-2-yl)phenylarabino- furanoside (3), along with two known compounds, quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-(5"-O-galloyl)arabinofuranoside (4) and quercetin 3-O-beta-D-(6"-O-galloyl)glucopyranoside (5). (see study below) (5)

Properties
- Studies cytotoxicity, anticancer properties.

Parts used
Leaves.

Uses
Edibility
- No report on edibility.
Folkloric
- In reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
Others
- Wood: Heartwood is pale gray-brown to pinkish-brown, not demarcated from the sapwood. Not very durable, susceptible to attack by decay fungi and vulnerable to dry-wood termites. (4)
- Construction: Used for furniture components, boxes and crates, interior construction, fiberboard and particleboard, joinery. (4)

Studies
• Cytotoxic Flavonol Glycosides / MCF-7, H-460, SF-268 Cancer Cell Line / Leaves: Study of young leaves of T. cumingiana isolated three new compounds, 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl-4,6-bis-O-beta-D-(3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoyl)glucopyranoside (1), 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl-5-O-alpha-L-(3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoyl) arabino-furanoside (2), and 2-hydroxy-4-O-alpha-L-(3,5,7-trihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-2-yl)phenylarabino- furanoside (3), along with two known compounds. (4,5) The compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activities against MCF-7, H-460, and SF-268 human cancer cell lines. Compound 1 showed cytotoxic activity against H-460 (lung ) cell line with GI50 (50% Growth Inhibition) of 3 µg/mL, while compound 4 was active against all three cell lines with GI50 of 1.4, 1.2, and 2.3 µg/mL in MCF-7, H-460, and SF-268 respectively. (see constituents above) (5)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Seeds in the cybermarket. (etsy)

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Triplaris cumingiana / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Polygonaceae: Triplaris cumingiana / Co's Digital Flora of the Philippines
(3)
Triplaris cumingiana / Wikipedia
(4)
Triplaris cumingiana / Ken Fern: Tropical Plant Database / Useful Tropical Plants
(5)
Cytotoxic Flavonol Glycosides from Triplaris cumingiana / Ahmed A Hussein, Icela Barberena, Mireya Correa, Phyllis D Coley, Pablo N Solis, Mahabir Prashad Gupta et al / Journal of Natural Products, 2005; 68(2): pp 231-233 / DOI: 10.1021/np049803g
(6)
Seed tannin composition of tropical plants / Jorma Kim et al / Phytochemistry 2021; 2021: 112750 /
DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2021.112750
(7)
Polymorphic microsatellite markers for a wind-dispersed tropical tree species, Triplaris cumingiana (Polygonaceae) / Na Wei, Christopher W Dick / Appl Plant Sci., 2014; 2(9): 1400051 /
DOI: 10.3732/apps.1400051

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)