''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild,
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
caltrop
A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot''Battle of Alesia'' (Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History Cha ...
family,
Zygophyllaceae
Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera.
Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habit ...
, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with several other Zygophyllum genera, into a new genus named "''Zygophyllum'' L." Species occurring in the US are commonly referred to as fagonbushes. The distribution of the genus includes parts of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, the
Mediterranean Basin, the Mid-East, India, and parts of the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. ''Fagonia'' species have been used ethnobotanically by traditional practitioners under Ayurvedic and other TM healing regimes for many maladies. Species occur in deserts, dry washes, ditches and on rocky outcrops, including at altitude.
''
Fagonia laevis'' is a perennial herb of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
desert southwest. It has
opposite leaves
In botany, phyllotaxis () or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a distinctive class of patterns in nature.
Leaf arrangement
The basic arrangements of leaves on a stem are opposite and alterna ...
, trifoliate with spinescent
stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
s, a lavender
corolla and smooth fruits. Under cultivation, ''F. indica'' has been found to have a long taproot and to its growth slowing where temperatures dipped below 65 F.
Commercial ''Fagonia'' products available on the web should be viewed with caution by reason of there being little to no authentication as to species contained therein, based on DNA analysis. It may be that all ''Fagonia'' species contain medicinal compounds but that has yet to be established . Research carried out at Quaid-i-Azam U. in Pakistan found that all six Pakistani ''Fagonia'' species, both the verified (per B.-A. Beier's 2005 reorganization of the genus) and unverified ones,
[ were represented in commercial ''Fagonia'' products in the Islamabad marketplace. Plant systematists caution that species other than ''Fagonia'', as well as other, unrelated material, can be present in commercial preparations.
Numerous scientific papers cite ''Fagonia cretica'' as the species studied. However, due to the re-ordering of ''Fagonia'' species by Beier in 2005, researchers have found that they have actually been studying another ''Fagonia'' species, instead, most commonly, ''Fagonia indica''.][
In 2022, researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State U., determined that an acid-hydrolyzed extract of F. indica was much more effective than an aqueous extract at causing MCF-7 breast cancer cell death and inhibiting further cell multiplication.
]
Species
, Plants of the World Online accepts the following species:[
*'' Fagonia acerosa'' Boiss.
*'']Fagonia arabica
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
'' L.
*'' Fagonia bruguieri'' DC.
*'' Fagonia californica'' Benth.
*''Fagonia charoides
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
'' Chiov.
*'' Fagonia chilensis'' Hook. & Arn.
*'' Fagonia cretica'' L.
*'' Fagonia densa'' I.M.Johnst.
*'' Fagonia densispina'' Beier & Thulin
*'' Fagonia glutinosa'' Delile
*'' Fagonia gypsophila'' Beier & Thulin
*'' Fagonia hadramautica'' Beier & Thulin
*'' Fagonia harpago'' Emb. & Maire
*'' Fagonia indica'' Burm.f.
*'' Fagonia laevis'' Standl. (syn. ''Fagonia californica'') – California fagonbush
*''Fagonia lahovarii
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
'' Volkens & Schweinf.
*''Fagonia latifolia
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
'' Delile
*''Fagonia latistipulata
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
'' Beier & Thulin
*''Fagonia longispina
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
'' Batt.
*''Fagonia luntii
''Fagonia'' is a genus of wild, flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, having about 34 species. The latest reorganization of the genus took place in 2021 when systematists Christenhusz & Byng included ''Fagonia spp''.. along with ...
'' Baker
*'' Fagonia mahrana'' Beier
*'' Fagonia minutistipula'' Engl.
*'' Fagonia mollis'' Delile
*'' Fagonia olivieri'' DC.
*'' Fagonia orientalis'' C.Presl
*'' Fagonia pachyacantha'' Rydb. – sticky fagonbush
*'' Fagonia palmeri'' Vasey & Rose
*'' Fagonia paulayana'' J.Wagner & Vierh.
*'' Fagonia scabra'' Forssk.
*'' Fagonia scoparia'' Brandegee
*'' Fagonia spinosissima'' Blatt. & Hallb.
*'' Fagonia subinermis'' Boiss.
*'' Fagonia villosa'' D.M.Porter
*'' Fagonia zilloides'' Humbert
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment
USDA Plants Profile
Mediterranean Species:
Refers to 30 species & medical history/common names
- goredsea.com
Rosid genera
{{rosid-stub