Galphimia glauca

Galphimia glauca, also known as rain of gold, golden showers, thryallis and shower of gold, is a flowering shrub in the Malpighiaceae family that is native to Central America.

Description
It is an evergreen, erect shrub with branched taproot system that reaches a height of up to 1.8 to 3 metres. The alternate leaves are ovate or elongate, green above and bluish green below which may become bronze coloured during the cold. The sweet-scented flowers are yellow in color, 2 cm in size, with 5 petals and sepals, and are produced in flowery racemes. The plant can bloom in cycles all year round in the right conditions and under full sun, but mostly from early spring to the first frost.

Galphimia glauca is told apart from Galphimia gracilis by the flowers; in G. gracilis the petals fall as the fruit matures, whereas in G. glauca the petals remain put even in fruit.

Distribution
It is native to Mexico, Guatemala and Panama, where it is found in semi-warm and temperate climates between 920 and 2600 m asl, where it grows in fields associated with disturbed vegetation of deciduous and evergreen tropical forests, xeric scrub, oak, pine and juniper forests. The plant can adapt to drier climates and can resist mild frosts of up to -2º C.

Medicinal uses
The plant's fruits contain high vitamin C. In Mexican folk medicine, a tea is infused from the plant's leaves to relieve chest pain, soothe anxiety and as well as to treat diarrhea, asthma, malaria, rhinitis, hayfever, dysentery and gastroenteritis. It is also used as an antihistamine, an anticonvulsant, an anti-allergic medication and a sedative, because it contains a variety of therapeutic compounds, including quercetin, phenolics, triterpenoids, and flavonoids.