''Blumea'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...
.
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Characteristics
Genus ''Blumea'' is found in the tropical and sub-tropical zones of Asia, especially the Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
and Southeast Asia. A few species are found in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
and still fewer in Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.[
The plants of this genus are mostly relatively small weeds. Some of them are ]ruderal
A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, et ...
species.
A few of the species were formerly included in genus ''Conyza
''Conyza'' (horseweed, butterweed or fleabane) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.
They are native to tropical and warm temperate regions throughout the world, and also north into cool temperate regions in North America and ...
''.
Many species of genus ''Blumea'' are used in traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
. Other uses include as decorative dry plants.
'' Blumea balsamifera'' (Nat; หนาด) is reputed to ward off spirits in Thai folklore
Thai folklore is a diverse set of mythology and traditional beliefs held by the Thai people. Most Thai folklore has a regional background for it originated in rural Thailand. With the passing of time, and through the influence of the media, large ...
, and is used in Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
herbal medicine as well.
'' Blumea axillaris'' (syn. ''Blumea mollis'') leaf essential oil contains linalool
Linalool () refers to two enantiomers of a naturally occurring terpene alcohol found in many flowers and spice plants. Linalool has multiple commercial applications, the majority of which are based on its pleasant scent (floral, with a touch of ...
( 19%), γ-elemene (c. 12%), copaene
Copaene, or more precisely, α-copaene, is the common (or trivial) chemical name of an oily liquid hydrocarbon that is found in a number of essential oil-producing plants. The name is derived from that of the resin-producing tropical copaiba tree, ...
(c. 11%), estragole
Estragole (''p''-allylanisole, methyl chavicol) is a phenylpropene, a natural organic compound. Its chemical structure consists of a benzene ring substituted with a methoxy group and an allyl group. It is an isomer of anethole, differing with res ...
(c.11%), ''allo''-ocimene (c. 10 %), γ-terpinene (8%) and ''allo''-aromadendrene (c. 7 %). The essential oil had significant toxic effect against early fourth-instar larvae of ''Culex quinquefasciatus
''Culex'' is a genus of mosquitoes, several species of which serve as vectors of one or more important diseases of birds, humans, and other animals. The diseases they vector include arbovirus infections such as West Nile virus, Japanese en ...
'' with LC50 = 71.71 and LC90 = 143.41 ppm.
Other uses of the name
''Blumea'' is also the name of the '' Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Plant Geography'' published by the National Herbarium of the Netherlands
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
.Blumea - ''Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Plant Geography'', National Herbarium of the Netherlands
Species
, 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 ...
accepted the following species:
Bibliography
* John Lindley & Thomas Moore, ''The treasury of botany''
References
External links
*
*
Flowers of India - Blumea paniculata
Herbal medicine - Blumea densiflora
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2267837
Inuleae
Asteraceae genera