''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family

Hypoxidaceae Hypoxidaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the 1998, 2003, and 2009 versions) recognizes this family. The family consists of four genera totalling s ...

, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the

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.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 271 仙茅属 xian mao shu ''Curculigo'' Gaertner, Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 63. 1788.
/ref>

Curculin Curculin or neoculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of ''Curculigo latifolia'' (Hypoxidaceae), a plant from Malaysia. Like miraculin, curculin exhibits taste-modifying activity; however, unlike mirac ...

is a sweet

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of ''Curculigo latifolia'', a plant from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Like

miraculin Miraculin is a :Taste modifiers, taste modifier, a glycoprotein extracted from the fruit of ''Synsepalum dulcificum''. The berry, also known as the miracle fruit, was documented by explorer Chevalier des Marchais, who searched for many different ...

, curculin exhibits taste-modifying activity; however, unlike miraculin, it also exhibits a sweet taste by itself. After consumption of curculin, water and sour solutions taste sweet. The plant is referred to locally as 'lembah' or 'lumbah'; English: 'weevil-wort'. ;Species # '' Curculigo annamitica'' Gagnep. – Vietnam # '' Curculigo breviscapa'' S.C.Chen – China (Guangxi, Guangdong) # '' Curculigo conoc'' Gagnep. – Vietnam # '' Curculigo disticha'' Gagnep. – Vietnam # '' Curculigo ensifolia'' R.Br. – Australia # '' Curculigo erecta'' Lauterb. – Philippines, Sumatra, New Guinea, Solomon Island # '' Curculigo maharashtrensis'' M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra # ''

Curculigo orchioides ''Curculigo orchioides'' (commonly called golden eye-grass, xian mao, weevil-wort, कालो मुस्ली (in Nepal) black musli, Kali musli, or Kali Musali) is an endangered flowering plant species in the genus ''Curculigo''. It is nati ...

'' Gaertn. – China, Japan, Indian Subcontinent, Papuasia, Micronesia # '' Curculigo janarthanamii'' R.D. Gore & S.P. Gaikwad – India # '' Curculigo sabui'' S.P. Gaikwad & Gore – India # '' Curculigo pilosa'' (Schumach. & Thonn.) Engl. – tropical Africa, Madagascar # '' Curculigo racemosa'' Ridl. – Borneo # '' Curculigo savantwadiensis'' M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra # '' Curculigo scorzonerifolia'' (Lam.) Baker – southern Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America # '' Curculigo seychellensis'' Bojer ex Baker – Seychelles # '' Curculigo sinensis'' S.C.Chen – China (Yunnan) # '' Curculigo tonkinensis'' Gagnep. – Vietnam

References

*Curculigo janarthanamii Gore & S.P.Gaikwad, Phytotaxa 357(1): 72 (2018). *Curculigo sabui S.P.Gaikwad & Gore, Nordic J. Bot. 37(7)-e02340: 2 (2019)

External links

* * Asparagales genera {{Asparagales-stub