''Tabernaemontana'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...
. It has a pan-tropical distribution, found in Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and a wide assortment of oceanic islands.
[ These plants are ]evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and small tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s growing to 1–15 m tall. The leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are opposite, 3–25 cm long, with milky sap; hence it is one of the diverse plant genera commonly called "milkwood". The flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are fragrant, white, 1–5 cm in diameter.
The cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
'' T. divaricata'' cv. 'Plena', with doubled-petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
ed flowers, is a popular houseplant
A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...
.
Some members of the genus ''Tabernaemontana'' are used as additives to some versions of the psychedelic drink ayahuasca
AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...
; the genus is known to contain ibogaine
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in plants in the family Apocynaceae such as ''Tabernanthe iboga'', ''Voacanga africana'', and ''Tabernaemontana undulata''. It is a psychedelic with dissociative properties.
Prel ...
(e.g. in bëcchëte
''Tabernaemontana undulata'', the becchete or bëcchëte (pronounced b'-chéw-teh, a Matis and Matsés word for a medicinal plant) is a plant species in the family Apocynaceae. It occurs in the Amazon rainforest.
Effects
When applied directly to ...
, ''T. undulata''), conolidine
Conolidine is an indole alkaloid. Preliminary reports suggest that it could provide analgesic effects with few of the detrimental side-effects associated with opioids such as morphine, though at present it has only been evaluated in mouse mode ...
(present in minor concentration in ''T. divaricata'') and voacangine ('' T. alba'', '' T. arborea'', '' T. africana''). Because of presence of coronaridine
Coronaridine, also known as 18-carbomethoxyibogamine, is an alkaloid found in ''Tabernanthe iboga'' and related species, including ''Tabernaemontana divaricata'' for which (under the now obsolete synonym ''Ervatamia coronaria'') it was named.
Li ...
and voacangine
Voacangine (12-methoxyibogamine-18-carboxylic acid methyl ester) is an alkaloid found predominantly in the root bark of the ''Voacanga africana'' tree, as well as in other plants such as ''Tabernanthe iboga'', ''Tabernaemontana africana'', ''Trach ...
in Mexican ''Tabernaemontana'' species, those plant could be used in economic production of anti-addictive alkaloids especially ibogaine and ibogamine. '' T. sananho'' preparations are used in native medicine to treat eye injuries and as an anxiolytic
An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or antianxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxi ...
, and '' T. heterophylla'' is used to treat dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
in the elderly.
Conolidine may be developed as a new class of pain killer.
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
s of the oleander hawk-moth
''Daphnis nerii'', the oleander hawk-moth or army green moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''.
Distribution
''Daphnis nerii'' is a large hawk-moth found in wi ...
(''Daphnis nerii'') have been found to feed on the pinwheelflower (''T. divaricata'').
Taxonomy
;Publication
The genus was described by Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
and published in Species Plantarum
' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...
1: 210–211 in 1753. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
is '' T. citrifolia''.
;Etymology
The genus name commemorates the "father of German botany" Jakob Theodor von Bergzabern, a.k.a. Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus, ''Tabernaemontanus'' being a compressed form of the original Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
name (''Tabernae Montanus'') of the botanist's home town of Bergzabern
Bad Bergzabern () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, on the German Wine Route in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, on the south-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest, approximately ...
- both the Latin and the German forms of the town's name meaning "tavern(s) in the mountains".
;Species[
]
Gallery
Image:Tabernaemontana divaricata - JBM.jpg, Ornamental pinwheelflower (''T. divaricata'') cv. 'Plena'
Image:Tabernaemontana divaricata habitus - JBM.jpg, Habitus of '' T. divaricata''
Image:Krötenbaum.jpg, '' T. elegans'' ( toad tree) : undehisced fruit
Image:Tabernaemontana catharinensis (1).JPG, '''': dehiscence of paired, ripe fruits, revealing black seeds in deep orange pulp.
Image:Tabernaemontana pandacaqui Blanco1.41.jpg, '' T. pandacaqui'' ( banana bush)
Image:Tabernaemontana-2016.jpg, '' T. pachysiphon''
See also
* Psychedelic plants
Psychoactive plants are plants, or preparations thereof, that upon ingestion induce psychotropic effects. As stated in a reference work:
Psychoactivity may include sedative, stimulant, euphoric, deliriant, and hallucinogenic effects.
Several h ...
* Compounds found in ''Tabernaemontana''
** Affinisine
Affinisine is a monoterpenoid indole alkaloid which can be isolated from plants of the genus ''Tabernaemontana''. Structurally, it can be considered a member of the sarpagine alkaloid family and may be synthesized from tryptophan via a Pictet-Sp ...
** Affinine
Affinine is a monoterpenoid indole alkaloid which can be isolated from plants of the genus ''Tabernaemontana''. Structurally it can be considered a member of the vobasine alkaloid family and may be synthesized from tryptophan. Limited pharmacolog ...
References
* (1995): ''In: Ayahuasca Analogues: Pangaean Entheogens''.
* (2006): Plants with possible psychoactive effects used by the Krahô Indians, Brazil. ''Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria'' 28(4): 277–282
PDF fulltext
{{Taxonbar, from=Q310915
Apocynaceae genera
Ayahuasca