''Murraya'' () is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of flowering plants in the

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

family,

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Der ...

. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.''Murraya''.
Flora of China. The center of diversity is in southern China and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

.But, P. P., et al. (1986)
A chemotaxonomic study of ''Murraya'' (Rutaceae) in China.
''Acta Phytotax. Sin'' 24(3), 186-92. When broadly circumscribed, the genus has about 17 species. A narrower circumscription contains only eight species, others being placed in ''

Bergera ''Bergera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. It has been included in ''Murraya'' as ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''. Species that may be placed in the genus are native from India through southeast Asia eastwards to China and Taiwa ...

'' and '' Merrillia''.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Murraya'' are shrubs or trees with

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

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 An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a panicle, cyme, or small raceme of flowers growing at the ends of branches or in the leaf axils; some flowers are solitary. The fragrant flowers have 4 or 5

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s and white petals and up to 10 straight stamens. The fruit is a fleshy berry with pulp but without the

juice vesicles The juice vesicles, also known as citrus kernels, (in aggregate, citrus pulp) of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit's endocarp. All fruits from the Citranae subtribe, subfamily Aurantioideae, and family Rutaceae have juice ves ...

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 Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

in '' Mantissa Plantarum Altera'' from an unpublished description by Johann Gerhard König. The genus name commemorates the 18th-century German-Swedish herbal doctor

Johan Andreas Murray Johan Andreas (Anders) Murray (27 January 1740 – 22 May 1791) was a Swedish physician of German descent and botanist, who published a major work on plant-derived medicines. Biography Johan Anders Murray was born in Stockholm on 27 January 1740, ...

, a student of

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

.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 morphology and multiple molecular phylogenetic studies showed that when broadly circumscribed, ''Murraya'' was not monophyletic, and treating ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' as the separate genus ''

'' has widespread support. ''Murraya'' is in the subfamily

Aurantioideae Aurantioideae (sometimes known as Citroideae) is the subfamily within the rue and citrus family (Rutaceae) that contains the citrus. The subfamily's center of diversity is in the monsoon region of eastern Australasia, extending west through South ...

, which also includes the genus ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

''. 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 Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

– China Southeast, Hainan, Vietnam * '' Murraya elongata'' A.DC. ex

Hook.f. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...

– Myanmar * '' Murraya glenieii'' Thwaites ex

Oliv. Daniel Oliver, FRS (6 February 1830, Newcastle upon Tyne – 21 December 1916) was an English botanist. He was Librarian of the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1860–1890 and Keeper there from 1864–1890, and Professor of Botany at ...

– Sri Lanka * '' Murraya lucida'' (

G.Forst. Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...

) Mabb. – Vanuatu * '' Murraya omphalocarpa'' Hayata * '' Murraya paniculata'' ( L.)

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

– Tropical Asia to Vanuatu and Australia * '' Murraya sumatrana'' Roxb. * '' Murraya zollingeri'' (Tanaka) F.J.Mou Species that have been placed in ''Murraya'' sect. ''Bergera'' belong in ''Bergera'', although , names for many have not been published. Further species still accepted in ''Murraya'' by Plants of the World Online are: * '' Murraya caloxylon'' Ridl. – Malayasia, Thailand; synonym of '' Merrillia caloxylon'' * '' Murraya crenulata'' ( Turcz.)

– Taiwan (Lan Yü) to Malesia and SW. Pacific; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' * '' Murraya cyclopensis'' Astuti & Rugayah – W. New Guinea * '' Murraya euchrestifolia'' Hayata – China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' * '' Murraya exotica'' L. – China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan * '' Murraya glabra'' (

Guillaumin Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Armand Guillaumin (1842–1927), French impressionist painter and lithographer *André Guillaumin (1885–1974), French botanist *Colette Guillaumin Colette Guillaumin (28 ...

) Swingle – Vietnam * '' Murraya heptaphylla''

Span. Johan Baptist Spanoghe (1798, Madras – 22 April 1838, Pekalongan, Java) was a Dutch botanical collector of Belgian parentage. A native of Madras, then part of British India, in 1816 he became a civil servant with the Dutch East Indies governm ...

– Lesser Sunda Islands (Timor) * '' Murraya koenigii'' ( L.) Spreng. – Indian Subcontinent to China (S. Yunnan, Guangdong) and Indo-China, S. Hainan; synonym of '' Bergera koenigii'' * '' Murraya kwangsiensis'' ( C.C.Huang) C.C.Huang – China (SE. Yunnan, W. & SW. Guangxi); placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' * '' Murraya macrophylla'' (C.C.Huang) F.J.Mou & D.X.Zhang – China * '' Murraya microphylla'' ( Merr. & Chun) Swingle – China (Guangdong), Hainan; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' * ''

Murraya tetramera ''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.C.C.Huang – China (SE. Yunnan, W. Guangxi); placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''

Uses

''Murraya'' species are used in

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

. Some species can be grafted onto

citrus rootstock Citrus rootstock are plants used as rootstock for citrus plants. A rootstock plant must be compatible for scion grafting, and resistant to common threats, such as drought, frost, and common citrus diseases. Principal rootstocks Five types of rootst ...

s. Species have been used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

, with various parts of the plants used to treat

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

, pain, and

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

. ''M. paniculata'' has been used to induce labor. It has been used in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

for painful inflammatory conditions.Casado Martín, C. M., et al. (2011)
Acercamiento al género ''Murraya'' (Rutaceae) ya la especie ''Murraya paniculata'' (L.) Jack.
''Revista Cubana de Plantas Medicinales'' 16(4), 408-18. (Spanish) In

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 Wells explai ...

, ''Murraya'' species are used to make

thanaka Thanakha, also spelled Thanakha (; ), is a paste made from ground bark. It is a distinctive feature of the culture of Myanmar, seen commonly applied to the face and sometimes the arms of women and girls, and is used to a lesser extent also by men ...

, a cosmetic paste that is typically applied onto the face.

Chemistry

Compounds isolated from ''Murraya'' include many types of

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by a lactone-like chain , forming a second six-membered h ...

s and

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 ...

s. The novel alkaloid yuehchukene 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 Carbazole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound. It has a tricyclic structure, consisting of two six-membered benzene rings fused on either side of a five-membered nitrogen-containing ring. The compound's structure is based on the indole str ...

girinimbine.

Spelling competition

In July 2021, 14-year old Zaila Avant-garde of

Harvey, Louisiana Harvey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Harvey is on the south side (referred to as the "West Bank") of the Mississippi River, within the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner metropolitan sta ...

, won the final of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word "Murraya", and was the first African American to win the 96-year-old event.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1641850 Aurantioideae genera