D. diacanthoides is an evergreen tree or shrub reaching up to 15 m in height with a trunk which can reach a diameter of over 2 m. The genus Dasyphyllum, to which the species belongs, is unusual in being one of the few genera of Asteraceae to include species which are trees, rather than herbs or shrubs. The soft, thin, brown bark is deeply fissured with longitudinal cracks. The glossy, leathery, yellowish-green leaves, borne alternately, are elliptical in shape with entire margins, and acute bearing a single, terminalspine. They are 2–6 cm in length and 1-2.5 cm wide, glabrous on both surfaces and pubescent on the margins, the petioles are 1–4 mm in length. Provided with two thorns, deciduous at the base of the leaves, the flowers are clustered in inflorescences resembling the hard, scaly flower heads of the familiar, European wildflowers the knapweeds. The flowers are white and hermaphrodite, 5 stamens with the anthers attached. The fruit is a cylindricalachene about 3-3.5 mm long and 1 mm wide, pubescent, reddish pappi 5 mm long.
Etymology
The genus nameDasyphyllum is a compound of the Greek elements δασύς 'hairy' and φύλλον 'leaf', while the specific namediacanthoides means 'resembling plants of the genus Diacantha ', the name of which is a compound of the Greek elements δύο 'two' and ἄκανθα 'thorn' / 'spine'. The scientific name in its entirety thus means 'the hairy-leaved plant resembling the plant bearing spines in pairs'.
Medicinal use and danger of confusion with ''Latua''
The bark of Dasyphyllum diacanthoides is highly esteemed in its native Chile as a folk remedy for blunt trauma. When not in flower, however, the plant is easily confused with the highly toxic Solanaceous species Latua pubiflora and this ease of confusion has been responsible for many cases of anticholinergic, tropane alkaloid poisoning by Latua in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile to which both plants are native.
One of his woodcutters had suffered a strong blow with the blunt end of his axe and went into the forest to get some bark of tayu for it. He took instead latúe and drank a concoction of this poison. He became insane almost immediately and wandered into the mountains. He was found three days later in an unconscious state. Several days were required for his recovery, although he suffered severe headaches for several months.
Chemistry
The unusual Asteraceae subfamily Barnadesioideae, to which the genus Dasyphyllum belongs, has yielded phenolic compounds, flavonoids and triterpenoids.
