Ageratina

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Ageratina
Ageratina adenophora (Buds).jpg
Sticky snakeroot ( Ageratina adenophora )
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Eupatorieae
Genus: Ageratina
Spach
Species

322; see text.

Ageratina, commonly known as snakeroot, is a genus of more than 330 [1] [2] [3] [4] perennials and rounded shrubs in the family Asteraceae.

Contents

These plants grow mainly in the warmer regions of the Americas and West Indies. Over 150 species are native to Mexico. [5] Some flourish in the cooler areas of the eastern United States. Two Mexican species have become a pest in parts of Australia and Taiwan. [4] Ageratina used to belong to the genus Eupatorium , but it has been reclassified.

The genus name Ageratina means "like Ageratum " [6] and consists of Ageratum and -ina, the feminine form of the Latin adjectival suffix -inus .

Description

The inflorescence consists of multiple fluffy, red or pinkish-white capitula in clusters. These lack the typical ray flowers of the composites.

They have multiple, much-branched woody stems. The petioles are rather long. The leaves are triangular, serrate and opposite with a foul-smelling, musky scent.

Species

As of July 2020, Plants of the World online has 322 accepted species: [7]

Selected synonyms:

Toxicity

Milk from cows that have eaten snakeroot can cause illness if ingested because the milk becomes toxic. Symptoms of milk sickness include vomiting.

Medicinal use

Ageratina pichinchensis is a traditional Mexican treatment for superficial fungal infections of the skin. These plant extracts contain encecalin which has activity to inhibit and kill the fungus. Studies have compared its effectiveness in treating toenail fungus with ciclopirox. [9] [10] [11]

Long used in India to treat snakebite, epilepsy, mental disorders. It was also discovered to be useful in regulating hypertension discovered in 1949, but it causes various side effects. Used to treat schizophrenia due to the alkaloid reserpine it contains.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ageratum</i> Genus of plants

Ageratum is a genus of 40 to 60 tropical and warm temperate flowering annuals and perennials from the family Asteraceae, tribe Eupatorieae. Most species are native to Central America and Mexico but four are native to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eupatorieae</span> Tribe of plants

Eupatorieae is a tribe of over 2000 species of plants in the family Asteraceae. Most of the species are native to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the Americas, but some are found elsewhere. Well-known members are Stevia rebaudiana, a number of medicinal plants (Eupatorium), and a variety of late summer to autumn blooming garden flowers, including Ageratum (flossflower), Conoclinium (mistflower), and Liatris.

<i>Critonia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Critonia is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Eupatorieae of the family Asteraceae.

<i>Fleischmannia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Fleischmannia is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. The name honours Gottfried F. Fleischmann (1777–1850), the teacher of Carl Heinrich Schultz at University of Erlangen–Nuremberg. Members of the genus are native to South, Central, and North America, with some species found as far north as Virginia and Illinois. They are commonly known as thoroughworts.

<i>Pentacalia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Pentacalia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. About 34 members of this genus appear to be located in the South American county Ecuador, where they are threatened by habitat loss. The genus contains approximately two hundred species, which are distributed from Mexico to northern South America.

Phalacraea is a genus of South American plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae.

<i>Viguiera</i> Genus of flowering plants

Viguiera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It contains around 19-40 species, which are commonly known as goldeneyes and are native to the New World. These are herbs to bushy shrubs that bear yellow or orange daisy-like flowers.

<i>Wedelia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Wedelia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are one of the genera commonly called "creeping-oxeyes".

<i>Pectis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Pectis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1759.

<i>Pseudognaphalium</i> Genus of plants

Pseudognaphalium is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Members of the genus are commonly known as cudweeds or rabbit tobacco. They are widespread in tropical and temperate regions of many countries.

Oxylobus is a genus of Mesoamerican flowering plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae.

<i>Psacalium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Psacalium is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Indianbush is a common name for Psacalium.

<i>Sinclairia</i>

Sinclairia is a genus of Latin American plants in the tribe Liabeae within the family Asteraceae.

<i>Montanoa</i> Genus of flowering plants

Montanoa is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae, within the family Asteraceae.

<i>Vernonanthura</i> Genus of flowering plants

Vernonanthura is a genus of Neotropical plants in the tribe Vernonieae within the family Asteraceae.

References

  1. ↑ "Ageratina". The Plant List. Version 1.1. 2013. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  2. ↑ Nesom, Guy L. (2006). "Ageratina". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 21. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. ↑ Ulloa Ulloa, Carmen; Jørgensen, Peter Møller. "Ageratina". Árboles y arbustos de los Andes del Ecuador[Trees and shrubs of the Andes of Ecuador] (in Spanish) – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. 1 2 Peng, Ching-I; Chung, Kuo-Fang; Li, Hui-Lin. "Ageratina". Flora of Taiwan– via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Turner, B. L. (2010). "Four new species of Ageratina (Asteraceae): Eupatorieae) from Oaxaca, Mexico" (PDF). Phytologia. 92 (3): 388–99. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011.
  6. ↑ Keil, David J. (2012). "Ageratina". In Jepson Flora Project (ed.). Jepson eFlora. The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley.
  7. ↑ Kew Science Plants of the World Online , retrieved 15 July 2020
  8. ↑ Turner, B. L. (2010). "Ageratina villarrealii (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae), A new species from Sierra de Zapaliname, Coahuila, Mexico" (PDF). Phytologia. 92 (3): 362–65. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Snakeroot leaf extract, proven as toenail fungus natural treatment". curestoenailfungus.com. May 17, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ↑ Romero-Cerecero, Ofelia; Román-Ramos, Rubén; Zamilpa, Alejandro; Jiménez-Ferrer, Jesús Enrique; Rojas-Bribiesca, Gabriela; Tortoriello, Jaime (2009). "Clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of two concentrations of the Ageratina pichinchensis extract in the topical treatment of onychomycosis". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 126 (1): 74–78. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.007. PMID   19683043.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  11. ↑ Romero-Cerecero, Ofelia; Zamilpa, Alejandro; Jiménez-Ferrer, Jesús; Rojas-Bribiesca, Gabriela; Román-Ramos, Rubén; Tortoriello, Jaime (2008). "Double-Blind Clinical Trial for Evaluating the Effectiveness and Tolerability ofAgeratina pichinchensisExtract on Patients with Mild to Moderate Onychomycosis. A Comparative Study with Ciclopirox". Planta Medica. 74 (12): 1430–1435. doi:10.1055/s-2008-1081338. PMID   18671197.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
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