''Gillenia'' ( syn. ''Porteranthus'') 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 two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herbs in the family Rosaceae, '' Gillenia stipulata'' and '' Gillenia trifoliata''. Common names for plants in this genus include: Bowman's root, Indian-physic, American ipecac. This genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to dry open woods with acidic soils in eastern North America. Both plants are subshrubs with exposed semi-woody branches and

serrated Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied p ...

leaves; the larger lower leaves are divided into palmately arranged leaflets. Plants bloom in May, June, or July; blooms are composed of five slender white petals which are loosely arranged and typically appear slightly twisted and limp as if they were wilted. The flowers mature into small capsules. ''G. stipulata'' and ''G. trifoliata'' are often planted as

ornamentals Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

and used in herbal medicine.

Classification and name

Traditionally this genus is considered to be related to

Spiraea ''Spiraea'' , sometimes spelled spirea in common names, and commonly known as meadowsweets or steeplebushes, is a genus of about 80 to 100 species

, but it became apparent that it comes from the lineage which leads to tribe

Maleae The Maleae (incorrectly Pyreae) are the apple tribe in the rose family, Rosaceae. The group includes a number of plants bearing commercially important fruits, such as apples and pears, while others are cultivated as ornamentals. Older taxonomie ...

(which arose from within subfamily Amygdaloideae). sing the name Maloideae for the subfamily now known as tribe Maleae/ref>Potter, D., et al. (2007). Phylogeny and classification of Rosaceae. ''Plant Systematics and Evolution''. 266(1–2): 5–43. eferring to the subfamily by the name "Spiraeoideae"/nowiki> ''Gillenia'' has a haploid

chromosome number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectivel ...

of 9, while Maleae have a haploid chromosome number of 17 (which was probably produced from a ''Gillenia''-like ancestor by doubling the genome and then losing a chromosome). Flower structure and fossil evidence also point to ''Gillenia'' sharing distinctive features with the Maleae. Another similarity between ''Gillenia'' and Maleae is susceptibility to ''

Phragmidium ''Phragmidium '' is a genus of rust fungus that typically infects plant species in the family Rosaceae. It is characterised by having stalked teliospores borne on telia each having a row of four or more cells. All species have a caeoma which i ...

'' fungus. Differences between ''Gillenia'' and Maleae include the chromosome number and the latter being solely woody pome bearing plants, while ''Gillenia'' is herbaceous and has a dry follicular fruit. The name ''Porteranthus'' ( Britton ex Small), named for

Thomas Conrad Porter Thomas Conrad Porter (1822–1901) was an American botanist and theologian known as an expert on the flora of Pennsylvania. Biography Porter was born in Alexandria, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1822. He attended Harrisburg Academy before e ...

, has sometimes been used for this genus. The name ''Gillenia'' was thought to be already occupied by ''Gillena'', a very similar name used by

Michel Adanson Michel Adanson (7 April 17273 August 1806) was an 18th-century French botanist and naturalist who traveled to Senegal to study flora and fauna. He proposed a "natural system" of taxonomy distinct from the binomial system forwarded by Linnaeus. ...

as a synonym for '' Clethra'' (under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants "names that are so similar that they are likely to be confused" should be treated as

homonyms In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition ...

ICN 2011 Melbourne Code
/ref>^{Art. 53.3-5}). However, a proposal to formally conserve ''Gillenia'' was mooted after it was determined that ''Gillena'' was not validly published and a vote at the

International Botanical Congress International Botanical Congress (IBC) is an international meeting of botanists in all scientific fields, authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and held every six years, with the location rotati ...

decided that it and ''Gillenia'' were not likely to be confused. Thus, ''Gillenia'' is the correct name (and ''Porteranthus'' was validly published but is superfluous and illegitimate^{Art. 52.1}).

Species

The two similar species can be distinguished by their

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s. In ''G. stipulata'', the stipules at the base of the leaves, which are round and deeply toothed, persist throughout the life of the plant. In ''G. trifoliata'' the long slender stipules are quickly

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

, this species also tends to have longer leaves and petals. *'' Gillenia trifoliata'' or ''Porteranthus trifoliatus''—mountain Indian physic, Bowman’s root *'' Gillenia stipulata'' or ''Porteranthus stipulatus''—Indian physic, American ipecac

Images

Image:Gillenia trifoliata0.jpg, ''Gillenia trifoliata'' flowers Image:Gillenia fruit.jpg, Mature fruit, an aggregate of follicles

References

External links

USDA PLANTS Database: ''Gillenia''Plants for a Future database: ''Gillenia''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q140300 Amygdaloideae Rosaceae genera Medicinal plants