''Tabernaemontana'' is a
genus of
flowering plants in the
family Apocynaceae. It has a pan-tropical distribution, found in Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and a wide assortment of oceanic islands.
[ These plants are evergreen ]shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and small trees growing to 1–15 m tall. The leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are opposite, 3–25 cm long, with milky sap; hence it is one of the diverse plant genera commonly called "milkwood". The flowers are fragrant, white, 1–5 cm in diameter.
The cultivar '' T. divaricata'' cv. 'Plena', with doubled-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 ...
ed flowers, is a popular houseplant.
Some members of the genus ''Tabernaemontana'' are used as additives to some versions of the psychedelic drink ayahuasca; the genus is known to contain ibogaine (e.g. in bëcchëte, ''T. undulata''), conolidine (present in minor concentration in ''T. divaricata'') and voacangine ('' T. alba'', '' T. arborea'', '' T. africana'').Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
s of the oleander hawk-moth
''Daphnis nerii'', the oleander hawk-moth or army green moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''.
Distribution
''Daphnis nerii'' is a large hawk-moth found in wi ...
(''Daphnis nerii'') have been found to feed on the pinwheelflower
''Tabernaemontana divaricata'', commonly called pinwheel flower, crape jasmine, East India rosebay, and Nero's crown, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. In zones where it is not hardy it is grown a ...
(''T. divaricata'').
Taxonomy
;Publication
The genus was described by Carl Linnaeus and published in 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 ...
1: 210–211 in 1753. The type species is '' T. citrifolia''.
;Etymology
The genus name commemorates the "father of German botany" Jakob Theodor von Bergzabern, a.k.a. Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus, ''Tabernaemontanus'' being a compressed form of the original Medieval Latin name (''Tabernae Montanus'') of the botanist's home town of Bergzabern - both the Latin and the German forms of the town's name meaning "tavern(s) in the mountains".
;Species[
]
Gallery
Image:Tabernaemontana divaricata - JBM.jpg, Ornamental pinwheelflower
''Tabernaemontana divaricata'', commonly called pinwheel flower, crape jasmine, East India rosebay, and Nero's crown, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. In zones where it is not hardy it is grown a ...
(''T. divaricata'') cv. 'Plena'
Image:Tabernaemontana divaricata habitus - JBM.jpg, Habitus of '' T. divaricata''
Image:Krötenbaum.jpg, '' T. elegans'' (toad tree
''Tabernaemontana elegans'', the toad tree, is a shrub or small tree in the family Apocynaceae. It is native to eastern Africa.
Description
''Tabernaemontana elegans'' grows up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . Its fragrant flowers feat ...
) : undehisced fruit
Image:Tabernaemontana catharinensis (1).JPG, '' Tabernaemontana catharinensis'': dehiscence of paired, ripe fruits, revealing black seeds in deep orange pulp.
Image:Tabernaemontana pandacaqui Blanco1.41.jpg, '' T. pandacaqui'' ( banana bush)
Image:Tabernaemontana-2016.jpg, '' T. pachysiphon''
See also
* Psychedelic plants
* Compounds found in ''Tabernaemontana''
** Affinisine
** Affinine
Affinine is a monoterpenoid indole alkaloid which can be isolated from plants of the genus '' Tabernaemontana''. Structurally it can be considered a member of the vobasine alkaloid family and may be synthesized from tryptophan. Limited pharma ...
References
* (1995): ''In: Ayahuasca Analogues: Pangaean Entheogens''.
* (2006): Plants with possible psychoactive effects used by the Krahô Indians, Brazil. ''Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria'' 28(4): 277–282
PDF fulltext
{{Taxonbar, from=Q310915
Apocynaceae genera
Ayahuasca