''Corydalis'' (from
Greek ''korydalís'' "
crested lark") is a genus of about 540 species of
annual and
perennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
herbaceous plants
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars f ...
in the
family Papaveraceae,
native to the
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical eastern Africa. They are most diverse in China and the Himalayas, with at least 357 species in China. Corydalis spp. are the only
dicots having only a single
cotyledon (seed leaf).
Ecology
''Corydalis'' species are used as food plants by the
larvae of some
Lepidoptera species (butterflies), especially the
clouded Apollo.
Toxicity
''Corydalis cava'' and some other tuberous species contain the
alkaloid
Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids.
Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...
bulbocapnine, which is occasionally used in medicine but scientific evidence is lacking in the correct dosages and side effects.
Many of the species in ''Corydalis'' contain other toxins and alkaloids like
canadine, which blocks
calcium. The species ''C. caseana'' is poisonous to livestock.
Taxonomy
Current species
There are about 540 species, including:
*''
Corydalis ambigua''
*''
Corydalis aurea''
*''
Corydalis buschii''
*''
Corydalis bracteata''
*''
Corydalis cava''
*''
Corydalis caseana''
*''
Corydalis cheilanthifolia'' – ferny corydalis
*''
Corydalis chelidoniifolia''
*''
Corydalis darwasica''
*''
Corydalis elegans''
*''
Corydalis filistipes''
*''
Corydalis flavula''
*''
Corydalis flexuosa''
*''
Corydalis heterocarpa''
*''
Corydalis incisa''
*''
Corydalis integra''
*''
Corydalis linstowiana''
*''
Corydalis micrantha''
*''
Corydalis nobilis''
*''
Corydalis ochotensis''
*''
Corydalis omeiana''
*''
Corydalis orthoceras''
*''
Corydalis palaestina''
*''
Corydalis pallida''
*''
Corydalis pauciflora''
*''
Corydalis pauciovulata''
*''
Corydalis rutifolia''
*''
Corydalis saxicola''
*''
Corydalis scouleri''
*''
Corydalis solida'' – fumewort
*''
Corydalis vittae''
*''
Corydalis wilsonii''
*''
Corydalis yanhusuo''
Corydalis ambigua.jpg, ''Corydalis ambigua''
Corydalis aurea flowers1.jpg, Golden smoke (''Corydalis aurea'')
Corydalis buschii - (kiurunkannus), (nunneört), Buschi lõokannus C IMG 7699.JPG, ''Corydalis buschii''
Corydalis bracteata 01.JPG, ''Corydalis bracteata''
Corydaliscaseana.jpg, ''Corydalis caseana''
Corydalis cava a1.jpg, ''Corydalis cava''
Corydalis-cheilanthifolia-habitus.jpg, Ferny corydalis (''Corydalis cheilanthifolia'')
Corydalis chelidoniifolia-IMG 4187.jpg, ''Corydalis chelidoniifolia''
Corydalis flavula - Yellow Fumewort.jpg, ''Corydalis flavula''
Corydalis flexuosa 'China Blue' 4.JPG, ''Corydalis flexuosa''
Corydalis heterocarpa var japonica 01.jpg, ''Corydalis heterocarpa''
Corydalis integra.jpg, ''Corydalis integra''
Corydalis linstowiana.jpg, ''Corydalis linstowiana''
File:Corydalis nobilis.JPG, ''Corydalis nobilis''
Corydalis ochotensis 4.jpg, ''Corydalis ochotensis''
Corydalis orthoceras 070407a.JPG, ''Corydalis orthoceras''
Corydalis pallida var. tenuis 02.jpg, ''Corydalis pallida'' var. ''tenuis''
Corydalis pauciflora (6187015328).jpg, ''Corydalis pauciflora''
Corydalis pauciovulata 4.JPG, Seed pods of ''Corydalis pauciovulata''
File:Corydalis rutifolia 910421.jpg, ''Corydalis rutifolia''
Corydalis scouleri.jpg, ''Corydalis scouleri''
File:Corydalis solida 2 RF.jpg, ''Corydalis solida''
ბუჩქისძირა თეთრი Corydalis vittae weißer Lerchensporn.JPG, ''Corydalis vittae''
Corydalis wilsonii (Papaveracese) plant.jpg, ''Corydalis wilsonii''
Former species
Several former ''Corydalis'' have been moved to new genera:
; ''
Pseudofumaria''
*''Corydalis lutea'' = ''
Pseudofumaria lutea'' – yellow corydalis
*''Corydalis ochroleuca'' = ''
Pseudofumaria alba''
; ''
Capnoides''
*''Corydalis sempervirens'' = ''
Capnoides sempervirens''
References
Medicinal plants
Papaveraceae genera
{{papaveraceae-stub