''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.''Murraya''. Flora of China. The
center of diversity
A center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Ni ...
is in southern
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
circumscribed
In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius.
Not every po ...
, the genus has about 17 species. A narrower circumscription contains only eight species, others being placed in '' Bergera'' and '' Merrillia''.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Murraya'' are shrubs or trees with pinnate leaves arranged alternately, usually glandular, aromatic, and leathery to membranous in texture. The leaflets vary in shape and have smooth or toothed edges.''Murraya''. FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium. The inflorescence is a
panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
, cyme, or small
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
of flowers growing at the ends of branches or in the leaf axils; some flowers are solitary. The fragrant flowers have 4 or 5 sepals and white
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 ...
s and up to 10 straight
stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s. The fruit is a fleshy
berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
with pulp but without the juice vesicles present in some related fruits. It is up to 1.3 centimeters long and orange, red, or black.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Murraya'' was first formally described in 1771 by Carl Linnaeus in ''
Mantissa Plantarum Altera
''Mantissa Plantarum Altera'', (abbreviated Mant. Pl. Alt.), is an illustrated book with botanical descriptions which was edited by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the year 1771.
''Mantissa Plantarum Altera'' was the continuation of '' ...
'' from an unpublished description by Johann Gerhard König. The genus name commemorates the 18th-century German-Swedish herbal doctor Johan Andreas Murray, a student of Linnaeus.Missouri Botanical Garden /ref> In 1986, Paul P.-H. But and co-authors separated off some species of ''Murraya'' as ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' based on chemical evidence. Evidence from
pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
morphology and multiple
molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
studies showed that when broadly
circumscribed
In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius.
Not every po ...
, ''Murraya'' was not
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
, and treating ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' as the separate genus '' Bergera'' has widespread support.
''Murraya'' is in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Aurantioideae, which also includes the genus '' Citrus''. It is in the tribe Clauseneae.
Species list
Studies have repeatedly shown that two sections into which ''Murraya'' has been divided, ''M.'' sect. ''Murraya'' and ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'', should be treated as separate genera. ''Murraya'' sensu stricto was revised in 2021, with eight species being accepted:
* '' Murraya alata'' Drake – China Southeast, Hainan, Vietnam
* '' Murraya elongata''
A.DC.
Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (28 October 18064 April 1893) was a French-Swiss botanist, the son of the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle.
Biography
De Candolle, son of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, first devot ...
Murraya glenieii
''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Thwaites ex Oliv. – Sri Lanka
* ''
Murraya lucida
''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.G.Forst.) Mabb. – Vanuatu
* '' Murraya omphalocarpa'' Hayata
* ''
Murraya paniculata
''Murraya paniculata'', commonly known as orange jasmine, orange jessamine, china box or mock orange, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rutaceae and is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia. It has smooth bark, pinn ...
Murraya zollingeri
''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
Turcz.
Nikolai Stepanovich Turczaninow ( ru , Николай Степанович Турчанинов, 1796 in Nikitovka, now in Krasnogvardeysky District, Belgorod Oblast, Russia – 1863 in Kharkov) was a Russian botanist and plant collector who ...
) Oliv. – Taiwan (Lan Yü) to Malesia and SW. Pacific; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
* ''
Murraya cyclopensis
''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Astuti & Rugayah – W. New Guinea
* ''
Murraya euchrestifolia
''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Hayata – China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
* ''
Murraya exotica
''Murraya paniculata'', commonly known as orange jasmine, orange jessamine, china box or mock orange, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rutaceae and is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia. It has smooth bark, pi ...
Merr.
Elmer Drew Merrill (October 15, 1876 – February 25, 1956) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He spent more than twenty years in the Philippines where he became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Through ...
& Chun) Swingle – China (Guangdong), Hainan; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
* '' Murraya tetramera'' C.C.Huang – China (SE. Yunnan, W. Guangxi); placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, ''Murraya'' species are used to make thanaka, a cosmetic paste that is typically applied onto the face.
Chemistry
Compounds isolated from ''Murraya'' include many types of coumarins and alkaloids. The novel alkaloid
yuehchukene
Yuehchukene is a dimeric indole alkaloid natural product that possesses anti-fertility and estrogenic activities. Yuehchukene is isolated from the roots of ''Murraya paniculata'' and other species of the plant genus '' Murraya''. Its natural abun ...
was found in ''M. paniculata'', and it has since been isolated from other ''Murraya''. It is found in red-fruited species with larger petals, but not in black-fruited species with smaller petals. Some species also contain the carbazole girinimbine.
Spelling competition
In July 2021, 14-year old Zaila Avant-garde of Harvey, Louisiana, won the final of the 2021
Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and commonly called the National Spelling Bee) is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scri ...
by correctly spelling the word "Murraya", and was the first African American to win the 96-year-old event.