Boophone

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Boophone
Boophone disticha.jpg
Inflorescence of Boophone disticha
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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

See text

Synonyms
  • Buphane Herb.
  • Boophane Herb.
Boophone disticha flowerhead with caterpillars of the Noctuid moth Diaphone eumela Boophone disticha02.jpg
Boophone disticha flowerhead with caterpillars of the Noctuid moth Diaphone eumela

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.

Contents

Taxonomy

Boophone is the single genus in subtribe Boophoninae, in the Amaryllideae tribe.

Phylogeny

Boophoninae are placed within Amaryllideae as follows, based on their phylogenetic relationship:[ citation needed ]

Tribe Amaryllideae

Subtribe Amaryllidinae

Subtribe Boophoninae

Subtribe Strumariinae

Subtribe Crininae

Species

The list of Boophone species, with their complete scientific name, authority, and geographic distribution is given below. [4]

FlowersPlantScientific nameDistribution
Boophone disticha, c, Schanskop.jpg Boophane disticha (Amaryllidaceae) (26458138633).jpg Boophone disticha (L.f.) [5] [ full citation needed ]From Sudan to South Africa
Boophone haemanthoides01.jpg Boophane haemanthoides.jpg Boophone haemanthoides Leight. [6] From Namibia to the Western Cape Province

Etymology

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]

Associated insects

Larvae of the moth genera Brithys and Diaphone use Boophone as a food plant.

Traditional medicine

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]

Chemistry

A variety of alkaloids with affinity for the serotonin transporter have been isolated from Boophone disticha. [12] [13]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Boophone disticha</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

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References

  1. Appendix: 18 (1821).
  2. Stevens, P.F. "Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Amaryllidoideae".
  3. Vigneron, P. (2000–2006). "Boophone". Amaryllidaceae organization. Archived from the original on 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  4. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. World Checklist of Monocotyledons: Boophone . Accessed May 16, 2009.
  5. Herb. Bot. Mag. 52: t. 2578 (1825)
  6. Leighton, Frances Margaret. Journal of South African Botany 13: 59. 1947. [ full citation needed ]
  7. R. H. Archer; R. K. Brummitt; D. A. Snijman (2001). "Proposal to conserve the name Boophone Herbert with that spelling (Amaryllidaceae)". Taxon. 50 (2): 569–572. doi: 10.2307/1223904 . JSTOR   1223904.
  8. Richard K. Brummitt. 2002. Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 53. Taxon, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Nov., 2002), pp. 795–799.
  9. Stafford GI, Pedersen ME, van Staden J, Jäger AK (2008). "Review on plants with CNS-effects used in traditional South African medicine against mental diseases". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 119 (3): 513–37. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2008.08.010. PMID   18775771.
  10. J. F. Sobiecki (2002). "A preliminary inventory of plants used for psychoactive purposes in southern African healing traditions". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 57 (1–2): 1–24. Bibcode:2002TRSSA..57....1S. doi:10.1080/00359190209520523. S2CID   40983799.
  11. "Amaryllidaceae". succulent-plant.com. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  12. Sandager M, Nielsen ND, Stafford GI, van Staden J, Jäger AK (2005). "Alkaloids from Boophane disticha with affinity to the serotonin transporter in rat brain". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 98 (3): 367–70. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.01.037. PMID   15814274.
  13. Neergaard J, Andersen J, Pedersen ME, Stafford GI, van Staden J, Jäger AK (2009). "Alkaloids from Boophone disticha with affinity to the serotonin transporter". South African Journal of Botany. 72 (2): 371–4. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2009.02.173 .