annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...
s in the family Asteraceae. St. Paul's wort is a common name for some of the species. ''Sigesbeckia'' is widely distributed and has been traditionally used for the management of chronic diseases, including arthritis.
Origin
''Sigesbeckia'' is named for a botanist Johann Georg Siegesbeck, who was a strong critic of Carl Linnaeus's botanic classification system. He was known to refer to it as "loathsome harlotry" because of the focus of the system upon the presence of (or lack of) sex organs in plants and their locations and groupings. Siegesbeck tried to refute Linnaeus' sexual classification system, but was unable to provide sound scholastic arguments to support his arguments. Linnaeus proposed in ''
Critica Botanica
''Critica Botanica'' ("Critique of botany", Leiden, July 1737) was written by Swedish botanist, physician, zoologist and naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778). The book was published in Germany when Linnaeus was 29 with a discursus by the botan ...
'' that there should be a link between the plant and the botanist after whom it was named. Considering the feud between Siegesbeck and Linnaeus, it is not unsurprising that in the classification book '' Hortus Cliffortianus'', Linnaeus named a pungent weed ''Sigesbeckia''.
Classification
''Sigesbeckia'' is related to a group of South American plants variously known as subtribe Espeletiinae or the '' Espeletia'' complex, which include genera such as '' Axiniphyllum'', '' Espeletia'', ''
Polymnia
''Polymnia'' is a genus of American plants in the sunflower family. It is the only genus in the tribe ''Polymnieae''. Several species are known by the common name leafcup.
; SpeciesSmallanthus
''Smallanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Millerieae within the family Asteraceae.
Taxonomy
The following species are currently recognized:
*'' Smallanthus apus'' – Mexico
*'' Smallanthus cocuyensis'' – Colombia
*'' Smalla ...
Three species of ''Sigesbeckia'' are used in traditional medicine: ''Sigesbeckia orientalis'', ''Sigesbeckia pubescens'', and ''Sigesbeckia glabracens,'' although the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, only recognizes two species, with ''Sigesbeckia pubescens'' considered a subspecies of ''Sigesbeckia orientalis''. In traditional medicine, the aerial parts of the plant are used to treat rheumatic conditions such as arthritis, joint pain, muscle pain, sciatica. It is also used to treat hypertension. Use of ''Sigesbeckia'' as a traditional medicine dates back to at least 659 AD, when it was first referenced in Chinese materia medica. The traditional Chinese medicine is called ''xi xian cao'', and is used to "dispel wind-dampness, to strengthen sinews, and for wind-heat-damp pain obstructions".