Boophone
| Boophone | |
|---|---|
| File:Boophone disticha.jpg | |
| Inflorescence of Boophone disticha | |
| Scientific classification Edit this 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 | |
| |
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.
Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]Boophone is the single genus in subtribe Boophoninae, in the Amaryllideae tribe.
Phylogeny
[edit | edit source]Boophoninae are placed within Amaryllideae as follows, based on their phylogenetic relationship:[citation needed]
| Tribe Amaryllideae |
| ||||||||||||||||||
Species
[edit | edit source]The list of Boophone species, with their complete scientific name, authority, and geographic distribution is given below.[4]
| Flowers | Plant | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Boophone disticha, c, Schanskop.jpg | File:Boophane disticha (Amaryllidaceae) (26458138633).jpg | Boophone disticha (L.f.) Herb.[5] | From Sudan to South Africa |
| File:Boophone haemanthoides01.jpg | File:Boophane haemanthoides.jpg | Boophone haemanthoides Leight.[6] | From Namibia to the Western Cape Province |
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Etymology
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]Larvae of the moth genera Brithys and Diaphone use Boophone as a food plant.
Traditional medicine
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]A variety of alkaloids with affinity for the serotonin transporter have been isolated from Boophone disticha.[12][13]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Appendix: 18 (1821).
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- ^ Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. World Checklist of Monocotyledons: Boophone . Accessed May 16, 2009.
- ^ Bot. Mag. 52: t. 2578 (1825)
- ^ Leighton, Frances Margaret. Journal of South African Botany 13: 59. 1947. [full citation needed]
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- ^ Richard K. Brummitt. 2002. Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 53. Taxon, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Nov., 2002), pp. 795–799.
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