Asphodelus ramosus

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Asphodelus ramosus
L'asfodelo mediterraneo.jpg
Blooming in Sicily.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Asphodelus
Species:
A. ramosus
Binomial name
Asphodelus ramosus
L.
Synonyms

Asphodelus microcarpusViv.

Asphodelus ramosus, the branched asphodel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the order Asparagales. Similar in appearance to Asphodelus albus and particularly Asphodelus cerasiferus and Asphodelus aestivus , it may be distinguished by its highly branched stem and smaller fruits. [1] [2] There has been a lot of confusion over the nomenclature and taxonomy of the species, owing to its similarity to Asphodelus aestivus . [3] [4]

Contents

Asphodelus ramosus is native to the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East. It can also be found in the Canary Islands. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] It is particularly common in coastal areas of the Mediterranean with intensive grazing and occasional fire. In some areas it shows an affinity for acidic soils, mainly schist. It can form abundant colonies, usually flowering in February to May. [10] [1] It has been thought to be Homer's asphodel of the underworld, [11] but so has the closely related Asphodeline lutea . The branched asphodel is known to contain colchicine, a chemical used in the treatment of gout.[ citation needed ]

Physical characteristics

Branched asphodel in the Negev, Israel Asphodelus ramosus and the View from Tel Gamma, northwestern Negev, Israel (2).JPG
Branched asphodel in the Negev, Israel

Asphodelus ramosus is a geophyte, having an underground storage organ which enables the plant to survive adverse conditions, such as excessive heat and drought. Its leaves, growing to a height of 60 centimetres (24 in)80 centimetres (31 in), contain alkaloids that are harmful to sheep and goats in the wet, winter months, but during the summer when their leaves dry out, they lose their toxicity. [12] [13] Its very numerous flowers are white with six tepals bearing a central brown streak. The fruits are small round capsules. [14]

Uses

Some traditional folk usages of the plant have been to make a glue from the plant's root. A remedy against warts is also derived from its root. [13] According to Dioscorides, a concoction made from its roots (mixed with wine) induces vomiting. [15] Formerly, the entire plant was used in treating venomous snake bites (its efficacy yet to be proven scientifically).

Related Research Articles

<i>Asphodelus</i> Flowering genus in family Asphodelaceae

Asphodelus is a genus of mainly perennial flowering plants in the asphodel family Asphodelaceae that was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The genus was formerly included in the lily family (Liliaceae). The genus is native to temperate Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent, and some species have been introduced to, and are now naturalized in, other places such as New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and southwestern United States. Many asphodels are popular garden plants, which grow in well-drained soils with abundant natural light.

<i>Retama</i> Genus of legumes

Retama is a genus of flowering bushes in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the broom tribe, Genisteae. Retama broom bushes are found natively in North Africa, the Levant and some parts of southern Europe. Retama raetam and Retama monosperma have white flowers, while Retama sphaerocarpa has yellow flowers. It remains an open question in taxonomy whether the members of the genus Retama should be incorporated into the genus Genista.

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

Anacyclus is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae described by Linnaeus in 1753. Annuals or herbaceous perennials, they are cultivated for their fern-like leaves on creeping, radiating stems and daisy-like flowers. They are frost-hardy but may tolerate winter temperatures below −5 °C (23 °F) if grown in well-drained soil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asphodelaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales

Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 40 genera and 900 known species. The type genus is Asphodelus.

<i>Asphodelus fistulosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Asphodelus fistulosus is a species of plant known as hollow-stemmed asphodel, onionweed, onion-leafed asphodel, and pink asphodel. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is an invasive exotic weed in the United States, with significant infestations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. It is listed as a Federal Noxious Weed by the United States Department of Agriculture. It is also a common weed in parts of Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico, and it thrives in any area with a Mediterranean climate.

<i>Asphodelus albus</i> Species of plant

Asphodelus albus, common name white asphodel, is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the genus Asphodelus.

<i>Asphodelus tenuifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Asphodelus tenuifolius is a species of plant in the asphodel family Asphodelaceae. It is native to North Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. It has been introduced to Australia and the Mascarene Islands. It is generally present from the Canary Islands, across the Mediterranean to the Middle East and Afghanistan. It has a fibrous root system. It is also known as wild onion or "jungli piyaz" in Pakistan.

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

Asphodeline is a genus of perennial plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1830. It is native to the eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East from Italy and Algeria east to Iran.

<i>Bosea</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Bosea is a genus of evergreen, woody shrubs contains 3 species that are geographically widely separated; one in the Canary Islands, one in Cyprus and one in the western Himalayas. The species have many crowded cane-like stems from ground level grow to medium to tall shrubs, smallish simple leaves with smooth margins, and tiny white-to-green flowers in branched spikes at end of branches. The fruits are small berries, which have varied local uses as food plants and in traditional medicine.

<i>Asphodelus macrocarpus</i> Species of flowering plant

Asphodelus macrocarpus is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the genus Asphodelus of the Asphodelaceae family. The Latin name macrocarpus of this species derives from the Greek μακρός and καρπειον, referred to the size of the fruits.

<i>Asphodeline lutea</i> Species of flowering plant

Asphodeline lutea is a perennial plant native to southeastern Europe, northern Africa, the Caucasus and the Levant. It is grown as a landscaping plant.

<i>Suaeda vera</i> Species of flowering plant in the amaranth family Amaranthaceae

Suaeda vera, also known as shrubby sea-blite, shrubby seablight or in the USA sometimes as alkali seepweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a small shrub, with very variable appearance over its wide range. It is a halophyte, and occurs in arid and semi-arid saltflats, salt marshes and similar habitats.

<i>Colchicum ritchii</i> Species of plant

Colchicum ritchii, or the Egyptian autumn crocus, is a plant species native to the southeastern Mediterranean east to the Arabian Peninsula.

<i>Asphodelus aestivus</i> Species of plant

Asphodelus aestivus, the summer asphodel, is a species of asphodel, a common Western Mediterranean geophyte with a short vertical rhizome and basal leaves. Its flowers are actinomorphic, pinkish-white, with six perianth segments, 14–19 mm long and six stamens of the same length, in two whorls. Its distribution is limited to the Western Mediterranean, mainly found in Portugal and Spain on the European mainland. There has been a lot of confusion over the nomenclature and taxonomy of the species, owing to its similarity to Asphodelus ramosus. It grows in dry grasslands, phrygana and on rocky or sandy ground.

<i>Tulipa agenensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Tulipa agenensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Liliaceae. It is native to Turkey, Iran, Cyprus, the Aegean Islands, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, and is naturalized in the central and western Mediterranean.

<i>Anchusa strigosa</i> Species of Anchusa

Anchusa strigosa is a non-succulent species of herbaceous plants in the Boraginaceae family endemic to the Eastern Mediterranean regions, particularly, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Iran. It is known widely by its common names of strigose bugloss and prickly alkanet.

Asphodelus bento-rainhae is a species of asphodel, endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.

Asphodelus lusitanicus is a species of asphodel, endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.

Asphodelus serotinus is a species of asphodel, endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.

<i>Leontice leontopetalum</i> Species of plant

Leontice leontopetalum, commonly known as leontice, lion's foot, lion's turnip, and lion's leaf, is a perennial geophyte having a wide distribution, and growing primarily in semi-desert regions. The name "lion's foot" is derived from the Greek λεοντοπέταλη [= "lioness"] in reference to a fancied resemblance between the shape of the leaves and the pads of a lioness’s paw.

References

  1. 1 2 Altervista Flora Italiana, Asphodelus ramosus includes photos plus European distribution map
  2. Lectotypification of Asphodelus ramosus (Asphodelaceae), a Misunderstood Linnaean Name
  3. Lifante, Zoila Díaz; Valdés, Benito (1994). "Lectotypification of Asphodelus ramosus (Asphodelaceae), a Misunderstood Linnaean Name". Taxon. 43 (2): 247–251. doi:10.2307/1222883. JSTOR   1222883.
  4. "Vascular plants of Greece: an annotated checklist", Englera 31 , Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem , retrieved 2018-03-04
  5. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  6. Dobignard, D. & Chatelain, C. (2010). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 1: 1-455. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  7. Davis, P.H. (ed.) (1984). Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands 8: 1-632. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
  8. "The Euro+Med PlantBase", the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity , Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem , retrieved 2018-03-04
  9. "Plants of the World Online", the reference for global plant names , Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , retrieved 2020-08-11
  10. "Flora of Israel Online", Analytical Flora , The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens , retrieved 2020-08-11
  11. Anonymous (May–October 1887). "Homer the botanist". Macmillan's Magazine. 56. London: Macmillan and Company: 428–436. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  12. Rhizopoulou, S. (1997). "Ecophysiological Adaptations of Asphodelus aestivus auct. (=ramosus) to Mediterranean Climate Periodicity: Water Relations and Energetic Status". Ecography. 20 (6): 626–633. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0587.1997.tb00431.x. JSTOR   3683251.
  13. 1 2 Avi Shmida, MAPA's Dictionary of Plants and Flowers in Israel, Tel-Aviv 2005, s.v. Asphodelus aestivus auct.=ramosus (p. 77) ISBN   965-521-017-0 (Hebrew)
  14. Danin, A. (2004). Distribution Atlas of Plants in the Flora Palaestina area: 1-517. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
  15. Dioscorides, De Materia Medica (Book II, § 199).