Dried fruits. ''Ruta chalepensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the

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

family known by the common name fringed rue. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa. It has been found elsewhere as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

. It is a perennial herb growing up to 80 centimeters tall. The leaves are compound, each divided into several segments which are subdivided into smaller leaflets. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a cluster of flowers, each with four or five bright yellow petals with rolled, fringed edges. The fruit is a textured capsule which is divided into pointed lobes. In traditional herbal medicine, the plant is used as for a number of ailments, such as

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

and

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

. ''Ruta chalepensis'' is the original source of the chemical compound

chalepensin Chalepensin is a chemical compound of the furanocoumarin class. Originally isolated in 1967 from fringed rue (''Ruta chalepensis''), from which it derives its name, it has also been found in other plants of the genus '' Ruta'' including common ...

References

External links

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Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
chalepensis Medicinal plants Flora of Malta {{Rutaceae-stub