Euphrasia

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Euphrasia
Augentrost.jpg
Euphrasia rostkoviana
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Tribe: Rhinantheae
Genus: Euphrasia
L.
Species

About 215, see text

Synonyms
  • AnagospermaWettst.
  • SiphonidiumJ.B.Armstr.

Euphrasia, or eyebright, is a genus of about 215 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae (formerly included in the Scrophulariaceae), with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are hemiparasitic on grasses and other plants. Both the common and generic names refer to the plant's use in a lotion for treating eye infections, with Euphrasia literally meaning 'good-cheer'. [1]

Contents

Many species are found in alpine or sub-alpine meadows where snow is common. Flowers usually are borne terminally, are zygomorphic, and have a lower petal shaped like a lip. The most common flower colours are purple, blue-white, and violet. Some species have yellow markings on the lower petal to act as a guide to pollinating insects.

Alternative names, mainly in herbalism, are Augentrostkraut, Euphrasiae herba, Herba Euphrasiae and Herbe d'Euphraise.

Use in herbalism and medicine

The plant was known to classical herbalists, but then was not referred to until mentioned again in 1305. Nicholas Culpeper assigned it to the Zodiac sign Leo, claiming that it strengthened the brain. It was also used to treat bad memory and vertigo. [2]

In the Elizabethan era, the plant was used in ales, and Gervase Markham's Countrie Farm (1616) said that one should "Drinke everie morning a small draught of Eyebright wine." [3]

Herbalists use eyebright as a poultice with or without concurrent administration of a tea for the redness, swelling, and visual disturbances caused by blepharitis, and conjunctivitis. The herb is also used for eyestrain and to relieve inflammation caused by colds, coughs, sinus infections, sore throats, and hay fever.

Parts used include the leaf, the stem, and small pieces of the flowers. Typical preparations include a warm compress, or tea. Eyebright preparations are also available as an extract or capsule.

A 2010 report from the European Medicines Agency on the efficacy of Euphrasia remedies states:

From the presence of secondary metabolites, an astringent and anti-inflammatory activity can be hypothesized for Euphrasia preparations. The ocular use of Euphrasia is based upon tradition. However, since the efficacy of the claimed ocular uses is undocumented and external eye application is not hygienic, therapeutic use cannot be recommended. [4]

Phylogeny

The phylogeny of the genera of Rhinantheae has been explored using molecular characters. [5] [6] Euphrasia belongs to the core Rhinantheae. Euphrasia is the sister genus to Odontites , Bellardia , Tozzia , and Hedbergia . In turn, these five genera share phylogenetic affinities with Bartsia .

Genus-level cladogram of tribe Rhinantheae.
   Rhinantheae   
         

  Melampyrum  

         

  Rhynchocorys  

         

  Lathraea

  Rhinanthus

  Core Rhinantheae  
         

  Bartsia sensu stricto ( Bartsia alpina )

         

  Euphrasia

         

  Hedbergia
  (including Bartsia decurva + B. longiflora )

  Tozzia

  Odontites sensu lato
  (including Bartsiella
  and Bornmuellerantha )

         

  Bellardia

         

  Neobartsia
(New World Bartsia)

  Parentucellia

The cladogram has been reconstructed from nuclear and plastid DNA molecular characters (ITS, rps16 intron and trnK region). [5] [6]

Taxonomy and identification

The genus Euphrasia is taxonomically complicated due to many species being interfertile and prone to hybridisation. Despite there having been a number of taxonomic revisions [7] [8] [9] the appropriate rank of many taxa, as well as the relationships between them, remains unclear.

Selected species

Euphrasia alpina Euphrasia alpina Alpen-Augentrost.JPG
Euphrasia alpina
Euphrasia gibbsiae subsp. subglabrifolia Euphrasia gibbsiae subsp. subglabrifolia.jpg
Euphrasia gibbsiae subsp. subglabrifolia
Euphrasia minima Euphrasia minima.jpg
Euphrasia minima
Euphrasia cuneata Euphrasia cuneata 11.JPG
Euphrasia cuneata

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Also known as Euphrasia sp. 'fabula'; related to but not identical with E. fabula .

Related Research Articles

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The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including tropical mountains. The family name is based on the name of the included genus Scrophularia L.

<i>Lathraea</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Lathraea (toothwort) is a small genus of five to seven species of flowering plants, native to temperate Europe and Asia. They are parasitic plants on the roots of other plants, and are completely lacking chlorophyll. They are classified in the family Orobanchaceae.

<i>Odontites</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Odontites is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulowniaceae</span> Family of trees

Paulowniaceae are a family of flowering plants within the Lamiales. They are a monophyletic and monogeneric family of trees with currently 7 confirmed species. They were formerly placed within Scrophulariaceae sensu lato, or as a segregate of the Bignoniaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orobanchaceae</span> Family of flowering plants known as broomrapes

Orobanchaceae, the broomrapes, is a family of mostly parasitic plants of the order Lamiales, with about 90 genera and more than 2000 species. Many of these genera were formerly included in the family Scrophulariaceae sensu lato. With its new circumscription, Orobanchaceae forms a distinct, monophyletic family. From a phylogenetic perspective, it is defined as the largest crown clade containing Orobanche major and relatives, but neither Paulownia tomentosa nor Phryma leptostachya nor Mazus japonicus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phrymaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Phrymaceae, also known as the lopseed family, is a small family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution, but is concentrated in two centers of diversity, one in Australia, the other in western North America. Members of this family occur in diverse habitats, including deserts, river banks and mountains.

<i>Rhinanthus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Rhinanthus is a genus of annual hemiparasitic herbaceous plants in the family Orobanchaceae, formerly classified in the family Scrophulariaceae. Its species are commonly known as rattles. The genus consists of about 30 to 40 species found in Europe, northern Asia, and North America, with the greatest species diversity in Europe.

<i>Euphrasia arguta</i> Species of flowering plant from Australia

Euphrasia arguta is a plant from the genus Euphrasia (eyebrights) within the family Orobanchaceae.

<i>Bartsia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Bartsia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae.

<i>Bellardia trixago</i> Species of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Bellardia trixago is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. The only member of the monotypic genus Bellardia, it is known as trixago bartsia or Mediterranean lineseed. This plant is native to the Mediterranean Basin, but it is known in other places with similar climates, such as California and parts of Chile, where it is an introduced species and noxious weed.

<i>Parentucellia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Parentucellia is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae containing about four species. They are known generally as glandweeds. The genus was named for Pope Nicholas V, whose surname was Parentucelli.

<i>Euphrasia officinalis</i> Species of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Euphrasia officinalis, also known as eyebright or eyewort, is a species of plant in the family Orobanchaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhinantheae</span> Tribe of flowering plants in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae

Rhinantheae is a tribe with fewer than 20 genera of herbaceous plants in the family Orobanchaceae.

<i>Rhynchocorys</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

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William (Bill) Robert Barker is an Honorary Research Associate of the State Herbarium of South Australia.

<i>Tozzia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae

Tozzia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants within the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. It contains a unique species, Tozzia alpina.

<i>Hedbergia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the broomrape family

Hedbergia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants, initially classified in Scrophulariaceae, and now within the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. It contains a unique species, Hedbergia abyssinica. It is an afromontane genus, widespread in grasslands and scrubs of the mountains of tropical Africa, and known from Ethiopia, Zaire, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, and Cameroons.

<i>Hedbergia decurva</i> Species of flowering plants in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae

Hedbergia decurva, formerly Bartsia decurva, is a species of flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae.

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References

  1. ↑ Gledhill, D. (1996). The Names of Plants. Gateshead: Cambridge University Press. p. 101. ISBN   0521366755.
  2. ↑ Howard, Michael (1987): Traditional Folk Remedies. Century. p.136
  3. ↑ Grieve, Maud (1971). A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1. Courier Corporation. p. 292. ISBN   9780486227986.
  4. ↑ "Assessment report on Euphrasia officinalis L. and Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne, herba (Page 13)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  5. 1 2 Těšitel, Jakub; Říha, Pavel; Svobodová, Šárka; Malinová, Tamara; Štech, Milan (2010-10-28). "Phylogeny, life history evolution and biogeography of the rhinanthoid Orobanchaceae". Folia Geobotanica. 45 (4): 347–367. Bibcode:2010FolGe..45..347T. doi:10.1007/s12224-010-9089-y. S2CID   39873516.
  6. 1 2 Scheunert, Agnes; Fleischmann, Andreas; Olano-Marín, Catalina; Bräuchler, Christian; Heubl, Günther (2012-12-14). "Phylogeny of tribe Rhinantheae (Orobanchaceae) with a focus on biogeography, cytology and re-examination of generic concepts". Taxon. 61 (6): 1269–1285. doi:10.1002/tax.616008.
  7. ↑ Yeo, P. F. (1978). "A taxonomic revision of Euphrasia in Europe". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 77 (4): 223–334. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1978.tb01401.x.
  8. ↑ Barker, W. R. (1982). "Taxonomic studies in Euphrasia L. (Scrophulariaceae). A revised infrageneric classification, and a revision of the genus in Australia". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 5: 1–304. JSTOR   23873848.
  9. ↑ Sell, P. D.; Yeo, P. F. (1970). "A revision of the North American species of Euphrasia L. (Scrophulariaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 63 (3): 189–234. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1970.tb02320.x.
  10. ↑ English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. 2015. p. 465. ISBN   978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2016– via Korea Forest Service.
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