Fagonia

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Fagonia
Fagonia Arabica.jpg
Fagonia arabica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Zygophyllales
Family: Zygophyllaceae
Subfamily: Zygophylloideae
Genus: Fagonia
L. [1] [2]
Species

See text

Fagonia is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2018 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (UK) included Fagonia spp.. along with several other Zygophyllum genera, into a new genus named "Zygophyllum L." Species occurring in the US are commonly referred to as fagonbushes. The distribution of the genus includes parts of Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Mid-East, India, and parts of North & South America. Fagonia species have been used ethnobotanically by traditional practitioners under Ayurvedic and other TM healing regimes for many maladies. Species occur in deserts, dry washes, ditches and on rocky outcrops, including at altitude.

Contents

Fagonia laevis is a perennial herb of the United States desert southwest. It has opposite leaves, trifoliate with spinescent stipules, a lavender corolla and smooth fruits. Under cultivation, F. indica has been found to have a long taproot and to its growth slowing where temperatures dipped below 65 F.

Commercial Fagonia products available on the web should be viewed with caution by reason of there being little to no authentication as to species contained therein, based on DNA analysis. It may be that all Fagonia species contain similar medicinal compounds but that has yet to be established as of 2015. Research carried out at Quaid-i-Azam U. in Pakistan found that three Pakistani Fagonia species, both the verified (per B.-A. Beier's 2005 reorganization of the genus) and unverified ones, [3] were represented in commercial Fagonia (Dramas) products in the Islamabad marketplace. Plant systematists[ who? ] caution that species other than Fagonia, as well as other, unrelated material, can be present in commercial preparations.

Numerous scientific papers cite Fagonia cretica as the species studied. However, due to the re-ordering of Fagonia species by Beier in 2005, researchers have found that they have actually been studying another Fagonia species, instead, most commonly, Fagonia indica. [3]

In 2022, researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State U., determined that an acid-hydrolyzed extract of F. indica was much more effective than an aqueous extract at causing MCF-7 breast cancer cell death and inhibiting further cell multiplication.

Species

As of February 2025, Plants of the World Online considered Fagonia to be a synonym of Zygophyllum . [1] Species formerly placed in Fagonia include:

Related Research Articles

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<i>Phlomis</i> Genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae

Phlomis is a genus of over 100 species of herbaceous plants, subshrubs and shrubs in the mint family Lamiaceae, native from the Mediterranean region east across central Asia to China.

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

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<i>Tribulus</i> Genus of plants in the family Zygophyllaceae

Tribulus is a genus of plants in the family Zygophyllaceae and found in diverse climates and soils worldwide from latitudes 35°S to 47°N. The best-known member is T. terrestris, a widespread invasive species and weed.

<i>Helianthemum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the rock rose family Cistaceae

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<i>Trigonella</i> Genus of Fabaceae plants

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<i>Securigera</i> Genus of legumes

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

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

Zygophyllum is the type genus of the flowering plant family Zygophyllaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ζυγόν (zygon), meaning "double", and φυλλον (phyllon), meaning "leaf". It refers to the leaves, each of which have two leaflets.

<i>Roepera similis</i> Species of plant

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<i>Zygophyllum album</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Zygophyllum fontanesii</i> Species of succulent

Zygophyllum fontanesii, synonym Tetraena fontanesii, is a species of plant of the family Zygophyllaceae. It is found in Macaronesia and northwest Africa.

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

Roepera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, subfamily Zygophylloideae. It is native to Australia and south-western Africa, from Angola to South Africa.

<i>Anthemis cretica</i> Species of plant in the genus Anthemis

Anthemis cretica, the Cretian mat daisy or white mat chamomile, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It or its many subspecies can be found around the Mediterranean region, the Black Sea area, Poland, the Caucasus, and the Middle East as far as Iran. It is highly morphologically variable, and the namesake of a species complex.

Augea is a possible monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae. Its only species is Augea capensis, native to Namibia and the western Cape Province of South Africa. The genus and species were first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1794.

<i>Zygophyllum dumosum</i> Species of plant in the family Zygophyllaceae

Zygophyllum dumosum, the bushy bean-caper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, native to Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Levant. It is a dominant shrub in the highlands of the Negev Desert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zygophylloideae</span>

Zygophylloideae is a subfamily of the family Zygophyllaceae. The subfamily comprises about 180 species of shrubs, subshrubs and herbs, found throughout arid parts of the Palaeotropics and into North and South America. As of February 2025, the division of the subfamily into genera is disputed, with between four and seven genera accepted by different sources.

References

  1. 1 2 "Fagonia Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
  2. ↑ "Genus: Fagonia L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2004-06-18. Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  3. 1 2 Beier, Bjorn-Axel Beier (2005). "A revision of the desert shrub Fagonia (Zygophyllaceae)". Systematics and Biodiversity. 3 (3): 221–263. doi:10.1017/S1477200005001684.

Mediterranean Species:


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