Astianthus | |
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Astianthus viminalis in Michoacán, Mexico | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Bignoniaceae |
Genus: | Astianthus D.Don |
Species: | A. viminalis |
Binomial name | |
Astianthus viminalis | |
Synonyms | |
Astianthus longifolius D.Don |
Astianthus is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the Bignoniaceae family. [2] The sole species is Astianthus viminalis. [3] It is known by the common names achuchil in Mexico and chilca in Guatemala and Honduras. [4]
Astianthus is native to Mesoamerica, from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. [4] It is a shrub, or if larger, a tree of varying height, occurring mostly along streambanks from sea level to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in elevation. [4] Its leaves are unusually long and slender, resembling those of a willow, possibly because it is a rheophyte.[ citation needed ]
The following description is excerpted from one that appeared in Flora Neotropica . [4]
The genus Astianthus was erected by David Don in 1823, in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal. [5] Don named its sole species Astianthus longifolia. [6] He was apparently unaware that Karl Sigismund Kunth had previously named this species Bignonia viminalis in 1819. [7] (The authority for this name is often cited as "H B K" instead of "Kunth". It is not clear why Alwyn Howard Gentry gives the date of the name as 1819.)
William Hemsley transferred this species to Tecoma as T. viminalis in 1882, recognizing that the specific epithet of Kunth had priority over that of Don by the rules of botanical nomenclature. [8]
The name Astianthus viminalis is often accredited to Henri Ernest Baillon in volume 10 of his Histoire des Plantes , but the reason for the citation is not self-evident upon viewing page 44 of this work. [5] [9]
Older works have usually placed Astianthus in the tribe Tecomeae, but the circumscription of that tribe was greatly revised in 2009. [10] Astianthus is now usually placed in Bignoniaceae incertae sedis. Alwyn Howard Gentry called Astianthus "a very isolated genus with no obvious affinities" and further wrote that "the superficial resemblance to Chilopsis is apparently due to parallel evolution for the same type of riparian site".
Astianthus has not yet been sampled for DNA in a molecular phylogenetic study.
Where Astianthus approaches its largest size, useful lumber can be produced from it, but it is rarely harvested by lumberjacks. [11]
Medicinal value has been alleged for Astianthus, but no verifiable evidence of efficacy has been observed. Isolated compounds and crude extracts from Astianthus have failed to show any antimicrobial activity. They also showed no cytotoxicity for tumor cells. [12]
The pentacyclic triterpenoids ursolic acid and oleanolic acid have been extracted from Astianthus. So have cinnamic acid, p-methoxycinnamic acid, and stigmasterol.
A chloroform-ethanol gradient elution High-performance liquid chromatography system was used to extract the iridoid glycosides campenoside and 5-hydroxycampenoside. [12]
Tabebuia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. Tabebuia consists almost entirely of trees, but a few are often large shrubs. A few species produce timber, but the genus is mostly known for those that are cultivated as flowering trees.
Bignoniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpet vines. It is not known to which of the other families in the order it is most closely related.
Stachys is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species vary from about 300, to about 450. Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae and its type species is Stachys sylvatica. The precise extent of the genus and its relationship to other genera in the subfamily are poorly known.
GastoniaCommerson ex Lamarck is a formerly accepted genus of plants in the ivy and ginseng family, Araliaceae. It had been known as an unnatural group, but was recognized as late as 2010, when its nine species were distributed to four different subgenera of the large genus Polyscias. Because the genus Gastonia is now obsolete, its species are herein referred to by their names in Polyscias.
Mertensia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants with blue or sometimes white flowers that open from pink-tinged buds. Such a change in flower color is common in Boraginaceae and is caused by an increase of pH in the flower tissue. Mertensia is one of several plants that are commonly called "bluebell". In spite of their common name, the flowers are usually salverform (trumpet-shaped) rather than campanulate (bell-shaped).
Tofieldiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the monocot order Alismatales. The family is divided into four genera, which together comprise 28 known species. They are small, herbaceous plants, mostly of arctic and subarctic regions, but a few extend further south, and one genus is endemic to northern South America and Florida. Tofieldia pusilla is sometimes grown as an ornamental.
Vitex is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae. It has about 250 species. Common names include chaste tree or chastetree, traditionally referring to V. agnus-castus, but often applied to other species, as well.
Arthrophyllum is a defunct genus of plants in the family Araliaceae. It was recognized by most authors until 2010, when all of its 30 species were "sunk" into Polyscias subgenus Arthrophyllum.
Raukaua is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae. It has an austral distribution, being indigenous to southern Argentina and Chile, as well as New Zealand and the island of Tasmania.
Rondeletia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to the Neotropics. There are around 160 species.
Rotheca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species in the genus vary from about 35 to as many as 60. Three of the species are native to tropical Asia, with the rest occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. The type species for the genus is Rotheca serrata. It had originally been named Rotheca ternifolia, but this name is now considered illegitimate.
Alwyn Howard Gentry was an American botanist and plant collector, who made major contributions to the understanding of the vegetation of tropical forests.
Handroanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. It consists of 30 species of trees, known in Latin America by the common names poui, pau d'arco, or ipê. The latter sometimes appears as epay or simply ipe (unaccented) in English. The large timber species are sometimes called lapacho or guayacan, but these names are more properly applied to the species Handroanthus lapacho and Handroanthus guayacan, respectively.
Roseodendron is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. It consists of two species, Roseodendron donnell-smithii and Roseodendron chryseum. The type species for the genus is R. donnell-smithii. Both species are cultivated as ornamentals for their numerous, large, yellow flowers.
Ekmanianthe is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. It is most closely related to Tabebuia and has sometimes been included within it. It consists of two species of trees, neither of which is especially common in any part of its range:
Handroanthus heptaphyllus, commonly referred to as the pink trumpet tree or pink tab, is a Bignoniaceae tree native to tropical and subtropical regions of South America. It grows in the high forest watershed of the Paraná River, Paraguay River and Uruguay River. It has a limited distribution, almost exclusively inhabiting low lands with wet and deep soils, where it forms part of the upper layer of tree cover.
Pseudomertensia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are perennial herbs with blue or bluish purple flowers. Their natural range is from Iran to the Himalayas. None have been found in China or Russia. P. echioides, and the type species for the genus, P. elongata, are occasionally cultivated as ornamentals.
Amphilophium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to South America. Amphilophium crucigerum has escaped from cultivation elsewhere, and has become an invasive weed in Australia.
Jacaranda caerulea is a flowering tree belonging to the genus Jacaranda. It is native to the West Indies, in Cuba, Hispaniola and the Bahamas.
Martinella is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. It is a genus of Neotropical lianas within the tribe Bignonieae.