Atropa acuminata

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Atropa acuminata
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Atropa
Species:
A. acuminata
Binomial name
Atropa acuminata

Atropa acuminata, also known as maitbrand or Indian belladonna, is a close relative of deadly nightshade [1] of Europe and North Africa and, like it, is an extremely poisonous plant valued in medicine for its richness in tropane alkaloids with anticholinergic, deliriant, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties. [2] The specific name acuminata signifies acuminate i.e. 'tapering to a long point' - in reference to the distinctive shape of the leaves. [3] Atropa acuminata is native to the Himalayas, being found in Eastern Afghanistan, the North of India and Pakistan  : from Balochistan in the West to Kashmir in the East, in an area including also Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand (part of Uttar Pradesh until the year 2000) and Pakistan's Azad Jammu and Kashmir. [4] The plant described under the name Atropa acuminata Royle ex Miers (which may be referable to A. acuminata Royle ex Lindl.) is found also in Eastern Iran and Mongolia. [5]

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<i>Atropa</i> Genus of plants

Atropa is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae: tall, calcicole, herbaceous perennials, bearing large leaves and glossy berries particularly dangerous to children, due to their combination of an attractive, cherry-like appearance with a high toxicity. Atropa species favour temperate climates and alkaline soils, often growing in light shade in woodland environments associated with limestone hills and mountains. Their seeds can remain viable in the soil for long periods, germinating when the soil of sites in which plants once grew is disturbed by human activity or by natural causes, e.g. the windthrow of trees. The best-known member of the genus Atropa is deadly nightshade - the poisonous plant par excellence in the minds of many. The pharmacologically active ingredients of Atropa species include atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine, all tropane alkaloids having anticholinergic, deliriant, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties. The genus is named for Άτροπος (Atropos) - lit. 'she who may not be turned (aside)' - one of the Three Fates and cutter of the thread of life / bringer of death - in reference to the extreme toxicity of A.belladonna and its fellow species - of which three others are currently accepted.

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Hyoscyameae Tribe of flowering plants

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<i>Atropa baetica</i> Species of flowering plant

Atropa baetica is one of Europe's rarest wildflowers. A close relative of the infamous deadly nightshade its specific name derives from that of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, while its common name refers to the Spanish region of Andalucía – both designating the area in the south of Spain where it is most frequently encountered. It is an attractive, perennial herbaceous plant bearing infundibuliform, yellow or greenish flowers and shiny, black berries. Like the other three species of Atropa, it is an extremely poisonous plant, containing a variety of tropane alkaloids with anticholinergic, deliriant, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties. Although most populations of the plant are to be found in Spain, it is not wholly confined to the Iberian Peninsula of Europe, occurring also in certain localities in Morocco and Algeria in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. The Rif and the Baetic System, which face each other across the Alboran Sea, together constitute one of the finest of the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspots – rich in endemic species, of which Atropa baetica is a notable example..

Atropa pallidiflora is a close relative of the infamous deadly nightshade and, like it, is an extremely poisonous plant, containing a variety of tropane alkaloids valued in medicine for their anticholinergic, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties and deliriant in excess. Atropa pallidiflora is the least well-known of the four currently accepted species of Atropa and is endemic to the remarkable Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests of Northern Iran, which can boast all the species of Atropa currently recognised, with the sole exception of the strictly Ibero-Maghrebi A.baetica. The binomial Atropa pallidiflora was published by Eva Schönbeck-Temesy in volume 100 ('Solanaceae') of Karl Heinz Rechinger's monumental Flora Iranica in 1972. The specific name pallidiflora signifies 'bearing flowers of a pale, wan or washed-out hue' and, while appropriate, is not especially evocative, given that the flowers of most Atropa species are far from vivid. The flowers of A. pallidiflora, like those of A.baetica, vary from greenish to yellow, but, as the designation 'having pallid flowers' might suggest, the yellow in question is a dingy greenish-yellow that is far from ornamental. The geographical term 'Hyrcanian' in the common name signifies that the plant is native to what was once the satrapy of Hyrcania, the name of which derives from an Iranian root meaning 'wolf' : Hyrcania is thus the 'Land of Wolves'. The name is an apt one, since the Hyrcanian forests have long been known as a hunting ground of legendary richness and beauty : the lush forests could support an abundance of large, mammalian herbivores, which in turn could support an abundance of apex predators - notably the wolf, but also the Persian leopard and even the tiger. The word 'Hyrcanian' will be familiar to any diligent reader of the works of William Shakespeare, as an epithet of the proverbially savage Caspian Tiger, known to the dramatist from his reading of the works of various Latin authors - who, in turn, were familiar with the Ancient Greek coinage 'Hyrcania' and the lands adjoining the Caspian Sea to which the place name referred. Regarding the richness of the Hyrcanian flora - of which Atropa pallidiflora is a noteworthy element - it is worth mentioning that the name of the modern Iranian province of Golestan has the delightful meanings of 'Rose Garden' and 'Land of Flowers'.

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References

  1. "Atropa acuminata Royle ex Lindl. — The Plant List" . Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. "Atropa acuminata Indian Belladonna PFAF Plant Database" . Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  3. "Illustration: Atropa acuminata".
  4. Medicinal Plants of India and Pakistan, Dastur J.F., pub.1962 by D.P. Taraporevala Sons and Co. Private Ltd., Mumbai, 4th, Indian reprint 1977
  5. http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Indian%20Belladonna.html