Anacua
Ehretia anacua

GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED

SUN full to part sun
WATER moderate
SOIL not picky, but well-drained
HARDINESS hardy to about 10°F
BASIN high zone
CONTAINER does moderately well in containers but will not attain full size
NUTRITION low
MAINTENANCE very little

ECOLOGY
Larval host for Anacua Tortoise Beetle (Coptocycla texana), nectar rich flowers for insects, edible fruits for birds, mammals, people. Part of the reason many butterflies visit the flowers is because of the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids which some species of butterflies use to attract mates, and for coating their eggs to protect from pests.

ETHNOBOTANY
The fruits are edible, most often made into preserves. The wood is light brown, heavy, hard, and has been used for posts, wheels, spokes, axles, yokes, and tool handles. Flowers produce a light-colored honey. A similar species, Ehretia tinifolia, is a very important medicinal plant and it is possible this species has very similar chemistry.

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Found on dry hillsides as a shrub, but reaches tree size in the moist soils of riparian zones and floodplains. It can be found at elevations from sea level to 1,000 ft. from southern Texas, into Mexico as far south as Vera Cruz.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
This plant is in the Boraginaceae, the borage family. There are 65 species of Ehretia native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Papuasia, and Australia..
The generic name honors German botanical illustrator Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708–1770). The species, anacua, is derived from the Mexican Spanish word anacahuite, as is that of the related Cordia boissieri, the anacahuita. That word in turn is derived from the Nahuatl words āmatl, meaning "paper," and cuahuitl, meaning "tree," possibly referring to the bark. The common name, knockaway, is an English corruption of anacua.