''Choisya'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of aromatic

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

s in the

rue ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus '' Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Mediterranean. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for i ...

family,

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

. Members of the genus are commonly known as Mexican orange due to the similarity of their flowers to those of the closely related

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

, both in shape and scent. They are

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to southern North America, from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and south through most of Mexico. In its generic name

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * Hu ...

and Bonpland honoured Swiss botanist

Jacques Denis Choisy Jacques Denys (Denis) Choisy (5 April 1799, Jussy – 26 November 1859, Geneva) was a Swiss Protestant clergyman and botanist. He studied theology, law, humanities and sciences at the ''Académie de Genève''. In 1821 he became ordained as a minis ...

(1799–1859).

Description

The species grow to tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are opposite, leathery, glossy,

palmately The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

compound with 3-13 leaflets, each leaflet long and broad. ''C. ternata'' has three broad leaflets, while ''C. dumosa'' has up to 13 very narrow leaflets. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are star-shaped, diameter, with 4-7 white

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s, 8-15

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s and a green stigma; they are produced throughout the late spring and summer. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a leathery two to six sectioned capsule.

Uses

''Choisya'' species are popular

ornamental plant 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 th ...

s in areas with mild winters, grown primarily for their abundant and fragrant flowers. The foliage is also aromatic, smelling of

when bruised or cut. The flowers are also valued for honeybee forage, producing abundant

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

. The following

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

:- *''Choisya'' × ''dewitteana'' 'Aztec Pearl' *''Choisya'' × ''dewitteana'' = 'Londaz' *''Choisya ternata'' *''Choisya ternata'' = 'Lich'

Chemistry

Many

quinoline alkaloids Quinoline alkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds from the group of alkaloids, which are chemically derived from quinoline. Some quinoline alkaloids show antiseptic, Convulsion, convulsive or antineoplastic effects. Examples Alkaloi ...

have been isolated from leaves of ''Choisya ternata''. ''C. ternata'' contains an alkaloid (ternanthranin), a volatile simple

anthranilate Anthranilic acid is an aromatic acid with the formula C6H4(NH2)(CO2H) and has a sweetish taste. The molecule consists of a benzene ring, ''ortho''-substituted with a carboxylic acid and an amine. As a result of containing both acidic and basic f ...

that can be considered responsible for the

antinociceptive In physiology, nociception , also nocioception; ) is the sensory nervous system's process of encoding noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an organism to receive a painful stimulus, convert it to a molecular ...

activity of the crude plant extracts.Radulović NS, Miltojević AB, McDermott M, Waldren S, Parnell JA, Pinheiro MM, Fernandes PD, de Sousa Menezes F." Identification of a new antinociceptive alkaloid isopropyl N-methylanthranilate from the essential oil of Choisya ternata Kunth.",''J Ethnopharmacol''. 2011 Mar 21.

Species

*''

Choisya dumosa ''Choisya'' is a small genus of aromatic evergreen shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as Mexican orange due to the similarity of their flowers to those of the closely related Orange (fruit), orange, both ...

'' (

Torr. John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focusing on t ...

) A.Gray (includes ''C. arizonica'') – starleaf *'' Choisya katherinae'' C.H.Müll. *'' Choisya neglecta'' C.H.Müll. *'' Choisya palmeri'' Standl. *'' Choisya ternata''

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) was a German botanist. He was also known as Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth. He was one of the early systematic botanists who focused on studying the plants of th ...

– Mexican orange blossom

Pests and diseases

''Choisya'' can be prone to attack by

pythium ''Pythium'' is a genus of parasitic oomycetes. They were formerly classified as fungi. Most species are plant parasites, but '' Pythium insidiosum'' is an important pathogen of animals, causing pythiosis. The feet of the fungus gnat are fre ...

root rot, particularly when propagated and grown in pots for the horticultural trade. In north-west Europe the main pest is snails, which eat the bark of even mature specimens, resulting in minor die-back of branches where ring-barking has occurred.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1468246 Zanthoxyloideae Zanthoxyloideae genera