''Corydalis'' (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''korydalís'' "

crested lark The crested lark (''Galerida cristata'') is a species of lark widespread across Eurasia and northern Africa. It is a non-migratory bird, but can occasionally be found as a vagrant in Great Britain. Taxonomy and systematics The crested lark was ...

") is a genus of about 470 species of

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

and

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herbaceous

plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperat ...

, native to the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical eastern Africa. They are most diverse in China and the Himalayas, with at least 357 species in China.

Ecology

''Corydalis'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some Lepidoptera species (butterflies), especially the clouded Apollo.

Toxicity

''Corydalis cava'' and some other tuberous species contain the

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

bulbocapnine Bulbocapnine is an alkaloid found in ''Corydalis'' (notably the European species Corydalis cava, C. cava) and ''Dicentra'', genera of the plant family Fumariaceae which have caused (notably the American species ''Corydalis caseana'') the fatal poi ...

, which is occasionally used in medicine but scientific evidence is lacking in the correct dosages and side effects. Many of the species in ''Corydalis'' contain other toxins and alkaloids like canadine, which blocks

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar t ...

. The species ''C. caseana'' is poisonous to livestock.

Taxonomy

Current species

There are about 470 species, including: * '' Corydalis ambigua'' * '' Corydalis aurea'' * ''

Corydalis buschii ''Corydalis'' (from Greek ''korydalís'' "crested lark") is a genus of about 470 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical easte ...

'' * '' Corydalis bracteata'' * ''

Corydalis cava ''Corydalis cava'' is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Papaveraceae, native plant, native to moist, shady, woodland habitats throughout most of mainland Europe, although commonest in central and southeast Europe. Its r ...

'' * '' Corydalis caseana'' * ''

Corydalis cheilanthifolia ''Corydalis cheilanthifolia'', the fern-leaved corydalis or fern-leaf corydalis, is a perennial growing from rhizomes, native to western and central China. Description Leaves are shaped like lipfern ('' Cheilanthes''), for which the plant is ...

'' – ferny corydalis * ''

Corydalis chelidoniifolia ''Corydalis chelidoniifolia'' is a flowering plant in the poppy family ''Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales ...

'' * ''

Corydalis darwasica ''Corydalis'' (from Ancient Greek, Greek ''korydalís'' "crested lark") is a genus of about 470 species of annual plant, annual and perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plant, plants in the family (biology), family P ...

'' * ''

Corydalis elegans ''Corydalis elegans'' () is a species of plant in the family Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally ...

'' * ''

Corydalis filistipes ''Corydalis filistipes'' is perennial flowering plant found only on Ulleung Island in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The grows to a height of and the tuber diameter ...

'' * '' Corydalis flavula'' * '' Corydalis flexuosa'' * '' Corydalis heterocarpa'' * '' Corydalis incisa'' * '' Corydalis integra'' * '' Corydalis linstowiana'' * '' Corydalis micrantha'' * '' Corydalis nobilis'' * '' Corydalis ochotensis'' * '' Corydalis omeiana'' * '' Corydalis orthoceras'' * '' Corydalis palaestina'' * '' Corydalis pallida'' * '' Corydalis pauciflora'' * '' Corydalis pauciovulata'' * '' Corydalis rutifolia'' * '' Corydalis saxicola'' * '' Corydalis scouleri'' * ''

Corydalis solida ''Corydalis solida'', fumewort or bird-in-a-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to moist, shady habitats in northern Europe and Asia. Growing to , it is a spring ephemeral, with foliage that appears in sprin ...

'' – fumewort * '' Corydalis vittae'' * '' Corydalis wilsonii'' * '' Corydalis yanhusuo'' Corydalis ambigua.jpg, ''Corydalis ambigua'' Corydalis aurea flowers1.jpg, Golden smoke (''Corydalis aurea'') Corydalis buschii - (kiurunkannus), (nunneört), Buschi lõokannus C IMG 7699.JPG, ''Corydalis buschii'' Corydalis bracteata 01.JPG, ''Corydalis bracteata'' Corydaliscaseana.jpg, ''Corydalis caseana'' Corydalis cava a1.jpg, ''Corydalis cava'' Corydalis-cheilanthifolia-habitus.jpg, Ferny corydalis (''Corydalis cheilanthifolia'') Corydalis chelidoniifolia-IMG 4187.jpg, ''Corydalis chelidoniifolia'' Corydalis flavula - Yellow Fumewort.jpg, ''Corydalis flavula'' Corydalis flexuosa 'China Blue' 4.JPG, ''Corydalis flexuosa'' Corydalis heterocarpa var japonica 01.jpg, ''Corydalis heterocarpa'' Corydalis integra.jpg, ''Corydalis integra'' Corydalis linstowiana.jpg, ''Corydalis linstowiana'' File:Corydalis nobilis.JPG, ''Corydalis nobilis'' Corydalis ochotensis 4.jpg, ''Corydalis ochotensis'' Corydalis orthoceras 070407a.JPG, ''Corydalis orthoceras'' Corydalis pallida var. tenuis 02.jpg, ''Corydalis pallida'' var. ''tenuis'' Corydalis pauciflora (6187015328).jpg, ''Corydalis pauciflora'' Corydalis pauciovulata 4.JPG, Seed pods of ''Corydalis pauciovulata'' File:Corydalis rutifolia 910421.jpg, ''Corydalis rutifolia'' Corydalis scouleri.jpg, ''Corydalis scouleri'' File:Corydalis solida 2 RF.jpg, ''Corydalis solida'' ბუჩქისძირა თეთრი Corydalis vittae weißer Lerchensporn.JPG, ''Corydalis vittae'' Corydalis wilsonii (Papaveracese) plant.jpg, ''Corydalis wilsonii''

Former species

Several former ''Corydalis'' have been moved to new genera: ; '' Pseudofumaria'' * ''Corydalis lutea'' = '' Pseudofumaria lutea'' – yellow corydalis * ''Corydalis ochroleuca'' = '' Pseudofumaria alba'' ; '' Capnoides'' * ''Corydalis sempervirens'' = '' Capnoides sempervirens''

References

External links

Medicinal plants Papaveraceae genera {{Ranunculales-stub