''Martynia'' is a monotypic genus in the Martyniaceae family consisting of a single species, ''Martynia annua'' L., which is commonly known as cat's claw, tiger's claw, iceplant. or Devil's claw. However, the name 'iceplant' may also refer to members of the unrelated plant family Aizoaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, and has been introduced throughout the tropics. It is now quite common in rural areas of India. ''Martynia'' is used for making beads and ornaments, and has a history of folk medicine uses in the Indian subcontinent.

Description

''Martynia'' is an erect, somewhat shrubby annual plant about tall, covered with glandular hairs, and has ovate, mucilaginous leaves wide and long. The leaves are opposite, and have red petioles. They resemble sticky rhubarb. Its flowers are pale pink and tubular, and have nectar guides and purple spots. Fruits become blackened when ripe and have hooked spines at the tip, lending its name "cat's claw" or "tiger's claw". They stick to animal fur and eventually the seeds fall out as the fruit gets crushed by the animal's feet.

Taxonomy

The genus and species were first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 publication, ''

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 ...

'', although the modern

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

definition may not correspond with the original Linnaeus description, instead being a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

for ''

Proboscidea The Proboscidea (; , ) are a taxonomic order of afrotherian mammals containing one living family (Elephantidae) and several extinct families. First described by J. Illiger in 1811, it encompasses the elephants and their close relatives. From ...

louisianica'' (Miller) Thellung, as well as other names used in India. ''Martynia'' was collected by the Scottish naval surgeon William Houstoun near Veracruz, Mexico. Houstoun sent seeds of this new plant to Philip Miller, chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden, in 1731. Houstoun named the plant, ''Martynia'', in honor of a professor of botany at Cambridge, John Martyn. The plant was described in Martyn's work '' Historia Plantarum Rariorum'', with a full description and illustration. Martyn gave the species the following descriptive name: ''Martynia annua villosa et viscosa, folio subrotundo, flore magno rubro''. In India, it has several taxonomic synonyms and common names.

Distribution

''Martynia'' is widely naturalized across

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

and tropical world regions, particularly in Central America and the Indian subcontinent. It is typically found in uncultivated fields and arable lands from plains to .

Uses

The plant is used for making beads and other native ornaments. It has been applied for numerous supposed treatments in Ayurveda and Siddha folk medicine.

References

External links

Martyniaceae Monotypic Lamiales genera Endemic flora of Mexico Medicinal plants {{Lamiales-stub