Tara spinosa

(Molina) Britton & Rose · species

image placeholder — illustration coming later

Plantae/Tracheophyta/Magnoliopsida/Fabales/Fabaceae/Tara

At a glance

Occurrence records647

Data sources11

Biological traits38

DNA specimens34

eDNA detections12

Sources11 archives

Databases and archives Tara spinosa's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation5 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility647 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI12 eDNA detections↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics34 specimens↗

LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗

NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗

GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗

CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗

PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype

GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗

On this page7 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements3 literature sources38 traits

Chemical compositionLOTUS · NPASS13 compounds

Occurrence & distributionGBIF647 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 3 countries12 detections

DNA & barcodingBOLD34 specimens

Genome at a glanceCCDB2n = 24

01Narrative

Tara spinosa, commonly known as tara (Quechua),Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) also known as Peruvian carob or spiny holdback, is a small leguminous tree or thorny shrub native to Peru.All information in article taken from: A. Brack Egg (1999). Diccionario Enciclopédico de Plantas Utiles del Perú Cusco, Peru: CBC. T. spinosa is cultivated as a source of tannins based on a galloylated quinic acid structure.Analytical Studies on Tara Tannins. J.M. Garro Galvez, B. Riedl and A. H. Conner, Holzforschung, 51(1997) 235-243. This chemical structure has been confirmed also by LC-MS.M. N. Clifford, S. Stoupi and N. Kuhnert. Profiling and Characterization by LC-MSn of the Galloylquinic Acids of Green Tea, Tara Tannin, and Tannic Acid. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55 (8), pp. 2797-2807. DOI: 10.1021/jf063533l. Publication Date (Web): March 24, 2007. It is also grown as an ornamental plant because of its large colorful flowers and pods.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesWCVPGIFTTRY

Size & morphology13

Fruit length max120 mm

Fruit length min60 mm

Fruit width max25 mm

Inflorescence length max2 cm

Inflorescence length min1.5 cm

Leaf length max80 mm

Leaf length min15 mm

Plant height6 m

Plant height max5 m

Plant height min2 m

Seed mass233 mg

Seed mass max256 mg

Seed mass min220 mg

Life cycle & reproduction9

Deciduousnessevergreen

Dehiscencedehiscent

Flower colourorange

Flower length max7 mm

Flower length min6 mm

Flowering endSep

Flowering startJun

Life formshrub or tree

Life spanperennial

Diet & foraging1

Parasiteindependent

Habitat & environment12

Aquaticterrestrial

Climateseasonally dry tropical

Climberself-supporting

Elevation max3 000 m

Elevation mean1 650 m

Elevation min0 m

Epiphyteterrestrial

Fruit colourred

Fruit typelegume

Growth formtree

Leaf formelliptic

Woodinesswoody

Physiology & chemistry2

Nitrogen fixingnon_nitrogen_fixer

Photosynthetic pathwayC3

Other traits1

Leaf arrangementalternate

03Chemical composition13 compounds

Compounds documented for Tara spinosa across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").

Compound class profile5 classes

Monomeric stilbenes3

Phenanthrenes3

Depsides2

Gallotannins1

Gallotannins $ Simple phenolic acids1

Documented compounds13 total

Tissue Source Quantified only

Compound	Amount	Source
(+)-Shikimic acid	present	LOTUS
2,3,5,7-Tetramethoxyphenanthrene	present	NPASS
5-(2-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)ethyl)-1,3-benzenediol	present	NPASS
Batatasin Iv	present	NPASS
Dihydropinosylvin	present	NPASS
Gallic acid	present	LOTUS
Gallic acid 3-O-gallate	present	LOTUS
Hircinol	present	NPASS
Isobatatasin I	present	NPASS
QSKFJIQOEAWAJW-VPTYWWQVSA-N	present	NPASS

05DNA & barcoding34 specimens

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Tara spinosa has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens34

Marker genes8

eDNA detections12

Countries3

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★matK★rbcL★rbcLa★trnL-F★ITS★ITS1★ITS2trnH-psbA

plant barcodefungal barcodemarker

06Genome at a glanceCCDB

The complete instruction manual Tara spinosa carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.

Chromosomes2n = 24 n = 12

Ploidydiploid inferred

Chromosome records24–242n range24median24mode3records

Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references

2n 243×CCDB · book-ipcn73-74 · CCDB · book-fedorov

CCDB · book-ipcn73-74 — BANDEL, G. 1974. Chromosome numbers and evolution in the Leguminosae Caryologia 27: 17-32.

CCDB · book-fedorov — Turner, Irwin 1961

CCDB · book-fedorov — Diers 1961

Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources

diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale

PloiDB · genus-scale — chromEvol; reliability=1.000 ↗

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type647 records

Wild obs. + sensor472

Museum / vouchered175

Origin

Native9

Introduced2

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO1 544 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy91% within 1 km

≤100 m 236≤1 km 81≤10 km 28>10 km 2

347 georeferenced · 125 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor472

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy33% within 1 km

≤1 km 2≤10 km 1>10 km 3

6 georeferenced · 169 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence175

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions21 of 39 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Kew, GB	46
Loja, EC	25
San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record	11
Ivano-Frankivsk, UA	9
Saint Louis, US	8
UTPLlocation not on record	8
Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH)location not on record	7
Herbarium of South China Botanical Gardenlocation not on record	7
Bronx, US	6
BDBClocation not on record	4
Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)location not on record	4
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record	3
ASUlocation not on record	3
Pretoria, ZA	3
Laboratorio de Ictiologialocation not on record	2
UFVJMlocation not on record	2
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BO	2
Universidad de La Salle (La Salle)location not on record	2
La Paz, BO	2
Cusco, PE	2
Brasília, BR	1
Campo Mourão, BR	1
Paris, FR	1
UFRRJlocation not on record	1
Cape Town, ZA	1
UEMlocation not on record	1
San Diego Natural History Museum, Herbariumlocation not on record	1
Maringá, BR	1
JBRJlocation not on record	1
Foz do Iguaçu, BR	1
Feira de Santana, BR	1
Montréal, CA	1
Cambridge, US	1
Universidad de La Serenalocation not on record	1
Cenargenlocation not on record	1
Valparaiso, CL	1
Santa Barbara, US	1
Edinburgh, GB	1
UTFPR-CPlocation not on record	1

39 institutions · 175 of 175 vouchered records shown

09Environmental DNA12 detections

Where the DNA of Tara spinosa was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found12

Studies independent surveys1

Countries3

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 12 detections have coordinates

Open the map3 countries0

Coastal Sage Scrub with Baccharis pilularis,…

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

Modelled climatemodelled

−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C

Temperature median17.3 °C 15.7–18.2

Seasonal swing summer↔winter7.40 °C

Max temp (day)20.0 °C 18.2–21.9

Min temp (night)15.0 °C 14.0–15.9

Precipitation2.20 mm/mo 1.50–6.20

Air humidity66.3 % 61.6–69.9

Moisture balance-133 mm/mo

Vapour deficit682 Pa 547–770

Wind speed3.00 m/s

Cloud cover56.3 % 30.3–63.4

CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 10 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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