Hypoxis

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Hypoxis
Temporal range: Pliocene - recent
Hypoxis angustifolia MS 3546.jpg
Hypoxis angustifolia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Hypoxidaceae
Genus: Hypoxis
L.
Synonyms [1]
  • UpodaAdans.
  • SchinnongiaSchrank.
  • NiobeaWilld. ex Schult. & Schult.f.

Hypoxis is a genus of flowering plants of the family Hypoxidaceae. The genus has an "almost cosmopolitan" distribution, occurring in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. [2] Europe lacks native species. [3] Most species are in the Southern Hemisphere, especially in southern Africa. [4] Common names for the genus include star-grass, [4] star lily, yellow stars, African potato, [2] and stars. [5] The genus is the largest of the Hypoxidaceae [6] [7] and has its centre of variation in South Africa, [6] [8] [9] where it occurs in open undisturbed grasslands. [8] The name Hypoxis was taken over by Linnaeus in 1759 from a name coined by Paul Reneaulme in 1611 for a superficially similar species of Gagea and meaning "a little sour", referring to the taste of that plant's leaves. [10] [11]

Contents

Description

These plants are perennial herbs with corms or rhizomes. Some have tubers. The aboveground herbage is a layered cluster of lance-shaped, linear, or hairlike leaves, sometimes sheathed together at the bases. The blades are usually at least slightly hairy. The flowers are borne on a short, stemlike scape in a raceme or umbel arrangement, or sometimes singly. The flower has six yellow tepals which may be hairy, especially on the undersides. The undersides may also be whitish or tinged green or red. Occasional flowers have 4 or 8 tepals. The fruit is a capsule with a few to many small, oily seeds. [2] [4] [5]

The seeds are needed to identify many species. Most have seeds less than 2 millimeters long, so microscopic examination is required. [12]

Uses

Hypoxis plants have long played a role in traditional African medicine; H. hemerocallidea and H. colchicifolia are the best known species used to make medicine and teas. The genus is not only used in traditional medicine, it has become important also in pharmaceutical preparations. [13]

Archaeological evidence found in ashes in Border Cave, South Africa has revealed that early humans roasted the rhizomes of some of the more palatable species of Hypoxis as long as 170,000 years ago. [14]

Species

Sources have estimated 90 [2] [12] or 100 [4] to 150 [15] species in the genus. As of August 2013, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognized 90 species: [16]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Nymphaea</i> Genus of aquatic plants

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<i>Calamus</i> (palm) Genus of flowering plants in the palm family Arecaceae

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<i>Bactris</i> Genus of palms

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

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

Hypoxidaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.

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

Asteliaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.

<i>Hypoxis hirsuta</i> Species of flowering plant

Hypoxis hirsuta is an ornamental plant in the family Hypoxidaceae. Sometimes this plant is placed in the family Amaryllidaceae or the family Liliaceae. The species is native to the United States, Canada, and the State of Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico.

<i>Hypoxis hemerocallidea</i> Species of flowering plant

Hypoxis hemerocallidea, the African star grass or African potato, is a medicinal plant in the Hypoxidaceae family. It is native to southern Africa from South Africa as far north as Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This plant is the best known member of this genus.

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

Psydrax is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It consists of trees, shrubs, and a few lianas in the paleotropics.

<i>Molineria capitulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Molineria Capitulata is a stout herb belong to the genus Molineria. It is also known as palm grass. It can be found widespread in the tropics and other warmer temperate places. The plant has yellower flowers and oblong, papery pleated leaves with very short stems. In China and India, the plant has traditional use as medicine to treat diseases such as hemorrhoids, asthma, and consumptive cough. In the Southeast Asia, the plant is also used as food wrapping and the fibres are used to make fishing nets, ropes and false hair. However, in recent years Molineria Capitulata are more often used as ornamental plants in gardens. In recent studies, M. Capitulata was also found to have potential in treating several chronic diseases due to its high antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, thrombolytic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities.

Gert Cornelius Nel was a South African botanist. His formal botanical author abbreviation is Nel.

<i>Alloteropsis semialata</i> Species of grass

Alloteropsis semialata, known commonly as black seed grass, cockatoo grass, donkersaad gras, swartsaadgras, tweevingergras, and isi quinti, is a perennial grass distributed across much of tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Australia, as well as Papuasia and Madagascar. The genus name Allopteropsis comes from the Greek words "allotrios", meaning "belonging to another", and "opsis", meaning appearance. The specific epithet semialata comes from the Latin "semi" (half) and "ala" (wing), referring to the winged margins of the upper glume.

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

Rhodohypoxis is a small genus of tuberous flowering plants in the family Hypoxidaceae, native to southern Africa. The small flowers, no more than 15 cm (6 in) high, are constructed so that their centres are not visible. Some species are in cultivation.

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

Empodium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1866. It grows from a small corm which produces lance-shaped or pleated and sometimes hairy, star-shaped flowers and leaves with 10–30 centimetres (4–12 in) long in Autumn season. The genus is native to winter-rainfall areas in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Namibia.

  1. Empodium elongatum(Nel) B.L.Burtt - Lesotho, Swaziland, Lesotho
  2. Empodium flexile(Nel) M.F.Thomps. ex Snijman - Cape Province
  3. Empodium gloriosum(Nel) B.L.Burtt - Cape Province
  4. Empodium monophyllum(Nel) B.L.Burtt - KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland
  5. Empodium namaquensis(Baker) M.F.Thomps. - Cape Province
  6. Empodium plicatum(Thunb.) Garside - Cape Province
  7. Empodium veratrifolium(Willd.) M.F.Thomps. - Cape Province
<i>Pauridia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Pauridia is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae. It is native to southern Africa, and southern Australia. It has been introduced into New Zealand. The southern African species have been transferred from the genus Spiloxene.

References

  1. ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. 1 2 3 4 Singh, Y. (Natal Herbarium, Durban). Hypoxis. PlantZAfrica.com: South African National Biodiversity Institute. 2004.
  3. ↑ Hypoxis. Flora of China.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hypoxis. Flora of North America.
  5. 1 2 Hypoxis. FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium.
  6. 1 2 Singh, Y. (2007-07-01). "Hypoxis (Hypoxidaceae) in southern Africa: Taxonomic notes". South African Journal of Botany. 73 (3): 360–365. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2007.02.001 .
  7. ↑ Kocyan, Alexander; Snijman, Deirdre A.; Forest, Félix; Devey, Dion S.; Freudenstein, John V.; Wiland-Szymańska, Justyna; Chase, Mark W.; Rudall, Paula J. (2011-07-01). "Molecular phylogenetics of Hypoxidaceae – Evidence from plastid DNA data and inferences on morphology and biogeography". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 60 (1): 122–136. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.02.021. PMID   21459153.
  8. 1 2 Nordal, Inger; Laane, Morten M.; Holt, Ellen; Staubo, Inger (1985-02-01). "Taxonomic studies of the genus Hypoxis in East Africa". Nordic Journal of Botany. 5 (1): 15–30. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1985.tb02067.x. ISSN   1756-1051.
  9. ↑ Wiland-Szymańska, Justyna (2009). "The genus Hypoxis L. (Hypoxidaceae) in the East Tropical". Biodiversity: Research and Conservation. 14 (–1): 1–129. doi: 10.2478/v10119-009-0011-5 .
  10. ↑ Paul Reneaulme. Specimen Historiae Plantarum. 1611. page 92
  11. ↑ Drewes and Khan (2004). "The African Potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea): a chemical historical perspective". South African Journal of Science.
  12. 1 2 Zona, S.; et al. (2009). "A seed atlas of Hypoxis from eastern North America" (PDF). J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 136 (1): 26–32. doi:10.3159/08-ra-086r.1. S2CID   86643608. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
  13. ↑ Betto, P.; Gabriele, R.; Galeffi, C. (1992-03-06). "Determination of the norlignan glucosides of Hypoxidaceae by high-performance liquid chromatography". Journal of Chromatography A. 594 (1): 131–135. doi:10.1016/0021-9673(92)80321-K.
  14. ↑ Wadley, L.; Backwell, L.; d'Errico, F. (2020-01-03). "Cooked starchy rhizomes in Africa 170 thousand years ago". Science. 367 (6473): 87–91. doi: 10.1126/science.aaz5926 . PMID   31896717.
  15. ↑ Genus Hypoxis. New South Wales Flora Online. National Herbarium. Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney.
  16. ↑ Search for "Hypoxis", "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2013-08-19.
  17. ↑ Sánchez-Ken, J. G. (2010). "Hypoxis colliculata (Hypoxidaceae), a new species from Mexico and a key to the American species with black seeds" (PDF). Acta Botanica Mexicana. 92 (92): 1–9. doi: 10.21829/abm92.2010.280 .
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