Health Benefits

Facts about Rhatany – Krameria triandra

Krameria triandra, popularly known as rhatany is a genus of shrub belonging to Krameriaceae (Krameria family).  The plant is native to found in the semi-desert regions of the South Americas, including Peru, Ecuador, Texas, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia, the West Indies, and northern Brazil. Since Ratanhia belongs to the family Krameriaceae it has several species within its genus, three of which are used in homeopathic remedies. Rhataniatannic acid, a natural astringent, can be extracted from the dried roots of Krameria argentea and Krameria lappacea, both referred to as para rhatany, and Krameria triandra, also called Peruvian ratanhia. Peruvian rhatany, rhatany-root, ratanhia, payta, krameria, mapato, Krameria root, Red Rhatany, Ratanya are some of the popular common names of the plant.

The name rhatany comes from the Peruvian Quechua language and means something like “plant that crawls over the ground” – an apt description of its growth pattern. The generic name Krameria is from the same source as the family name Krameriaceae. It was given to the plant by the Swedish botanist Pehr Löfling (1729-1756), a student of Carl von Linné (1707-1778), who named it in honor of Johann Georg Heinrich Kramer, a military physician in the Hungarian camp of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736). The scientific epithet ‘triandra’ is composed of the Latin tri = three and Greek Andros = man, and refers to the three male reproductive organs, the stamens, in the middle of the rhatany flower.

Rhatany Facts

Name Rhatany
Scientific Name Krameria triandra
Native South America, particularly Bolivia and Peru as well as dry areas over mountain slopes from Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Bolivia to Argentina
Common Names Peruvian rhatany, rhatany-root, ratanhia, payta, krameria, mapato, Krameria root, Red Rhatany, Ratanya
Name in Other Languages Afrikaans: Rhatany
Albanian: Rhatany          
Amharic: Rhatany           
Arabic: Rahani (رحاني), ratun eaqdi  (رطن عقدي)               
Armenian: Rrat’ani (ռաթանի)
Azerbaijani: Rhatany     
Bengali: Rhatany             
Bulgarian: Rhatany         
Burmese: R s (ရသ)
Chinese: Lā dān ní (拉丹尼)
Croatian: Rhatany           
Czech: Rhatany
Danish: Ratanje               
Dutch: Rhatany
English: Rhatany             
Esperanto: Rhatany       
Estonian: Rhatany          
Filipino: Rhatany            
Finnish: Rhatany, Punaratania
French: Rhatany, Ratanhia
Georgian: Rat’ania (რატანია)
German: Rhatany, Ratanhia
Greek: Ratány   (Ρατάνυ)
Gujarati: Raṭanī (રટની)
Hausa: Rhatany
Hebrew: Rhatany           
Hindi: Rhatany 
Hungarian: Rhatany       
Icelandic: Rhatany          
Indonesian: Ranyany
Irish: Rhatany   
Italian: Ratania 
Japanese: Ratanī (ラタニー)
Javanese: Rhatany         
Kannada: Ratāni (ರತಾನಿ)              
Kazakh: Ratani  (ратани)              
Korean: Las tani (랏 타니)           
Kurdish: Rhatany            
Lao: Rhatany     
Latin: Rhatany  
Latvian: Rātānijs              
Lithuanian: Rhatany
Macedonian: Ratanija (ратанија)
Malagasy: Rhatany         
Malay: Rhatany               
Malayalam: Rāṟṟāni (റാറ്റാനി)
Maltese: Rhatany           
Marathi: Rhatany            
Mongolian: Ratani (ратани)
Nepali: Rhatany
Norwegian: Ratania       
Oriya: Rhatany 
Pashto: Rhatany              
Persian: راتیانی
Polish: Rhatany
Portuguese: Rhatany, ratánia    
Punjabi: Rhatany            
Quechua: Pachalluq’i
Romanian: Rhatany       
Serbian: Rtatani (ртатани)
Sindhi: رهانٽي 
Sinhala: Ratani (රතනි)
Slovenian: Rtatanija
Spanish: Rhatany            
Sudanese: Rhatany        
Swedish: Rhatany           
Tajik: Ratana (Pатана)
Tamil: Rattaṉi (ரத்தனி)
Telugu: Rhatany              
Thai: Rhatany   
Turkish: Ozelliği
Ukrainian: Rataniya (ратанія)
Urdu: Rhatany  
Uzbek: Rhatany               
Vietnamese: Rhatany
Welsh: Rhatany               
Zulu: Rhatany
Plant Growth Habit Undemanding dense perennial, evergreen shrub
Growing Climates Rocky and dry areas over mountain slopes, inter-Andean valleys and coastal hills
Plant Size 3 ft (90 cm) tall
Root Up to 50 cm long, cylindrical, flexible, reddish brown with dark scaly bark, astringent bark, wood almost tasteless
Branches Low-lying branches are covered with silky down when they are young and then become woody and knotty as they age
Bark Bark of the root is thin, readily separable, rough and scaly; of a dark, reddish-brown color outside, and bright brownish-red within
Leaf Yellowish-white, downy, pointed, oblong-ovate leaves about one centimetre in length
Flower Flowers, which grow from the leaf axils, have four petals which are red on the inside and have grey hairs on the outside. These petals frame three striking-looking stamens. The unusual thing about the flowers is that they do not produce nectar to attract insects. Instead they produce an odourless oil in special glands called elaiophores
Fruit Shape & Size Fruit a one-celled globular drupe, covered with stiff, reddish hairs
Taste Bitter, Astringent
Plant Parts Used Dried root
Culinary Uses
  • A strong tincture of these roots in brandy is used in Portugal to impart roughness to port wines.

In its medicinal uses, Ratanhia can be drunk, gargled, or applied topically as a tincture or syrup to shrink tissues throughout the body. People may drink the tincture in order to constrict tissues to restrict the flow of blood or secretions of mucous. This can be useful for patients with diarrhea or peptic ulcers, though these patients may need additional medical care in some cases. It can also be gargled to help relieve sore throats by reducing mucous secretions. In its topical application, it is often used to stem bleeding in small wounds, such as a pulled tooth or a tear in the anus.

Plant Description

Rhatany is an undemanding dense perennial, evergreen shrub that normally grows about 3 ft. (90 cm) tall. The plant is found growing in rocky and dry areas over mountain slopes, inter-Andean valleys and coastal hills. Root is up to 50 cm long, cylindrical, flexible, reddish brown with dark scaly bark, astringent bark, wood almost tasteless. Bark of the root is thin, readily separable, rough and scaly; of a dark, reddish-brown color outside, and bright brownish-red within. It breaks with a slightly fibrous fracture, is tough and difficult to powder, and has a strong, purely astringent taste, tingeing the saliva red when chewed.

The central woody portion is very hard and almost tasteless. Neither bark nor wood has any marked odor. As the virtues of Rhatany reside in the bark, the smaller pieces are preferable. The roots are sold mostly in cylindrical pieces of different length and thickness. The roots or the root bark are used to make extracts and alcohol-based tinctures. Low-lying branches are covered with silky down when they are young and then become woody and knotty as they age. The plant has yellowish-white, downy, pointed, oblong-ovate leaves about one centimeter in length.

Flowers & Fruits

Flowers, which grow from the leaf axils, have four petals which are red on the inside and have grey hairs on the outside. These petals frame three striking-looking stamens. The unusual thing about the flowers is that they do not produce nectar to attract insects. Instead they produce odorless oil in special glands called elaiophores. Fertile flowers are followed by one-celled globular drupe, covered with stiff, reddish hairs.

Traditional uses and benefits of Rhatany

Other Facts

Precautions

References:

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=KRAME

https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/KRALP

https://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/rhatan12.html

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