Boophone | |
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Inflorescence of Boophone disticha | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Amaryllidaceae |
Subfamily: | Amaryllidoideae |
Tribe: | Amaryllideae |
Subtribe: | Boophoninae |
Genus: | Boophone Herb. [1] [ full citation needed ] |
Species | |
Synonyms | |
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Boophone is a small genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. [2] ) It consists of two confirmed species distributed across South Africa to Kenya and Uganda. It is closely related to Crossyne , a genus whose species have prostrate leaves. [3] They are drought tolerant but not cold-hardy, and are very poisonous to livestock.
Boophone is the single genus in subtribe Boophoninae, in the Amaryllideae tribe.
Boophoninae are placed within Amaryllideae as follows, based on their phylogenetic relationship:[ citation needed ]
Tribe Amaryllideae |
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The list of Boophone species, with their complete scientific name, authority, and geographic distribution is given below. [4]
Flowers | Plant | Scientific name | Distribution |
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Boophone disticha (L.f.) [5] [ full citation needed ] | From Sudan to South Africa | ||
Boophone haemanthoides Leight. [6] | From Namibia to the Western Cape Province | ||
William Herbert wrote the name of this genus with three different orthographies: "Boophane" in 1821; "Buphane" and "Buphone" in 1825. This final spelling was corrected to "Boophone" in 1839 by Milne-Redhead. The name was derived from the Greek bous (an ox) and phone (death), due to its toxic nature to cattle. A proposal was published in 2001 to conserve the name "Boophone" and to take the earlier ones as synonyms. [7] This proposal was accepted in 2002. [8]
Larvae of the moth genera Brithys and Diaphone use Boophone as a food plant.
Boophone disticha is used in South African traditional medicine by the Zulu people to induce hallucinations for divinatory purposes, and also for various mental illnesses. [9] Its use, however, is limited by injuries that result from the plant's toxicity. [10] They have also been used as ingredients in traditional arrow poisons, and medicinal dressings for skin lesions. [11]
A variety of alkaloids with affinity for the serotonin transporter have been isolated from Boophone disticha. [12] [13]
Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, as well as 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a naturally occurring psychedelic protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. It binds to and activates certain serotonin receptors in the brain, producing hallucinogenic effects.
Mesembryanthemum tortuosum is a succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It is known as the Namaqua skeletonfig, kanna, channa, kougoed —which literally means, 'chew(able) things' or 'something to chew'.
Brunsvigia is a genus of African flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It contains about 20 species native to southeastern and southern Africa from Tanzania to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Mesembrine is an alkaloid primarily derived from the plant Sceletium tortuosum, commonly known as kanna. This compound is noted for its psychoactive properties, particularly as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which contributes to its potential use in treating mood disorders and anxiety. Mesembrine has garnered interest in both traditional medicine and modern pharmacology, where it is explored for its effects on enhancing mood and cognitive function. The plant itself has a long history of use by indigenous peoples in southern Africa, who utilized it for its mood-enhancing and stress-relieving effects, often consuming it in various forms such as teas or chews.
Haemanthus barkerae is a South African bulbous geophyte in the genus Haemanthus. H. barkerae is found in the Western Cape from the Bokkeveld Mountains near Nieuwoudtville and the foothills of the Roggeveld Mountains, to the Hantamsberg near Calvinia, and bounded to the north and south by Loeriesfontein and the Tanqua Karoo.
Habranthus (copperlily) was a formerly recognized genus of tender herbaceous flowering bulbs in the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the family Amaryllidaceae. It is now included within a more broadly circumscribed genus Zephyranthes. The genus was first identified by pioneering bulb enthusiast William Herbert in 1824.
Ammocharis is a small genus from sub-Saharan Africa, in the family Amaryllidaceae which includes seven species distributed in Africa. The plant grows as above-ground bulb, preferring seasonally wet, hot, sandy soils and full sun.
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium, formerly known as Aptenia cordifolia, is a species of succulent plant in the iceplant family. It is a creeping plant that forms a carpet of flat-growing perennial herbs in groups on the ground from a base. The genus name means middle-embryo flower in reference to the position of the ovary in the flower. The specific epithet is derived from Latin for heart-shaped leaves.
Tulbaghia violacea, commonly known as society garlic, pink agapanthus, wild garlic, sweet garlic, spring bulbs, or spring flowers, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. It is indigenous to southern Africa, and reportedly naturalized in Tanzania and Mexico.
Pellaea calomelanos is a species of fern. It is found in eastern and southern Africa where it is associated with Afromontane vegetation, as well as on Madagascar, The Comoros, and the Mascarene Islands. Disjunct populations are found in northern India, Spain, and the Azores.
The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus Amaryllis and is commonly known as the amaryllis family. The leaves are usually linear, and the flowers are usually bisexual and symmetrical, arranged in umbels on the stem. The petals and sepals are undifferentiated as tepals, which may be fused at the base into a floral tube. Some also display a corona. Allyl sulfide compounds produce the characteristic odour of the onion subfamily (Allioideae).
Boophone disticha is a bulbous tropical and subtropical flowering plant, endemic to Africa. Commonly called the century plant or tumbleweed, Boophone disticha was first collected in 1781 from South Africa by Swedish botanist Carl Peter Thunberg and described by Carl Linnaeus as Amaryllis disticha. Since that time it has been placed in the genera Brunsvigia and Haemanthus, finally coming to rest as Boophone. The genus name itself was spelled in three different ways by the author William Herbert, straining the procedures of the rules of nomenclature. The etymology of the genus is from the Greek bous = ox, and phontes= killer of, a clear warning that eating the plant can be fatal to livestock.
Mesembrenone is an alkaloid constituent of Sceletium tortuosum (Kanna) and minor constituent of Lampranthus aureus and Lampranthus spectabilis.
Amaryllidoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then has three subfamilies, one of which is Amaryllidoideae, and the others are Allioideae and Agapanthoideae. The subfamily consists of about seventy genera, with over eight hundred species, and a worldwide distribution.
Galantheae is a tribe of European, West Asian and North African flowering plants belonging to the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). As of 2017, it contains three genera, although more were included previously. The position of the ovary is inferior.
Amaryllideae are a tribe of subfamily Amaryllidoideae. They are herbaceous monocot perennial flowering plants with a predominantly Southern African distribution, with the exception of the pantropical genus Crinum. They are generally treated as consisting of four subtribes. In addition to Crinum, other genera include Amaryllis, Boophone and Strumaria.
Cannabis in Namibia is illegal for recreational and medicinal uses, but cannabis, just like mandrax (methaqualone), are the most popular illicit drugs in the country. Cannabis also has a history of use as a traditional medicine by local indigenous communities. Per the 2011 UNODC report, the incidence of annual cannabis usage in Namibia was 3.9% as of 2000.
Strumariinae is one of four subtribes within the tribe Amaryllideae, found in southern Africa.
Crininae is one of four subtribes within the tribe Amaryllideae, with a pantropical distribution (Crinum) and also sub-Saharan Africa.
Crinum macowanii is a species of flowering plant in the Amaryllidaceae family. It is a deciduous bulbous plant species native to Africa that has been used in traditional medicine throughout southern Africa.