''Strychnos'' is a
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
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s, belonging to the
family Loganiaceae (sometimes Strychnaceae). The genus includes about 200 accepted
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s and
lianas.
[ The genus is widely distributed around the world's tropics and is noted for the presence of poisonous indole alkaloids in the roots, stems and leaves of various species. Among these alkaloids are the well-known and virulent poisons strychnine and curare.
]
Etymology
The name ''strychnos'' was applied by Pliny the Elder in his '' Natural History'' to '' Solanum nigrum''. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
στρύχνον (''strúkhnon'') – "acrid", "bitter". The meaning of the word ''strychnos'' was not fixed in Ancient Greece, where it could designate a variety of different plants having in common the property of toxicity.
Distribution
The genus has a pantropical distribution.
Taxonomy
The genus is divided into 12 sections, though it is conceded that the sections do not reflect evolution of the genus, and all sections except ''Spinosae'' are polyphyletic:
* ''Strychnos'' (53 species)
* ''Rouhamon'' (21 species)
* ''Breviflorae'' (32 species)
* ''Penicillatae'' (17 species)
* ''Aculeatae'' (1 species)
* ''Spinosae'' (4 species)
* ''Brevitubae'' (18 species)
* ''Lanigerae'' (32 species)
* ''Phaeotrichae'' (1 species)
* ''Densiflorae'' (8 species)
* ''Dolichantae'' (9 species)
* ''Schyphostrychnos'' (1 species)
Selected species
*'' Strychnos benthami'' C.B.Clarke
*'' Strychnos camptoneura'' Gilg & Busse
*'' Strychnos chromatoxylon'' Leeuwenb.
*'' Strychnos cocculoides'' Baker
*'' Strychnos elaeocarpa'' Gilg ex Leeuwenb.
*'' Strychnos icaja'' Baill.
*'' Strychnos ignatii'' P.J. Bergius
*'' Strychnos madagascariensis'' Poir.
*'' Strychnos mellodora'' S.Moore
*'' Strychnos millepunctata'' Leeuwenb.
*'' Strychnos nux-blanda'' A.W.Hill
*'' Strychnos nux-vomica'' L.
*'' Strychnos potatorum'' L.f.
*'' Strychnos psilosperma'' F.Muell.
*'' Strychnos pungens'' Soler.
*'' Strychnos spinosa'' Lam.
*'' Strychnos staudtii'' Gilg
*'' Strychnos tetragona'' A.W.Hill
*'' Strychnos toxifera'' R.H.Schomb. ex Lindl.
*'' Strychnos usambarensis'' Gilg ex Engl.
* The strychnine tree, ''Strychnos nux-vomica'', native to tropical Asia, is the source of the poison strychnine.
* ''Strychnos tonga'', native to Tonga, is a synonym of ''Strychnos spinosa''.
* '' Strychnos ignatii'' ("St. Ignatius bean"), is a closely related Asian shrub/tree.
* The species '' Strychnos toxifera'' is a principal plant source of the arrow poison curare.
* Three trees from Southern Africa, commonly known as " monkey oranges", are drought-tolerant and produce popular edible fruits: the corky-barked monkey orange or suurklapper, '' Strychnos cocculoides''; the Natal orange or green or spiny monkey orange, '' Strychnos spinosa''; and the black or spiny-leaved monkey orange '' Strychnos pungens''.
* The ripe seeds of '' Strychnos potatorum'', known as Therran or Nirmal, can be ground and used as a coagulant to purify water; or they may be rubbed against the inside walls of the earthenware water containers. Mrs Grieve's Herbal of 1931 also mentions traditional water purification uses of an Indian species called ''Strychnos pseudo'' (not a valid botanical name).
*Two very well preserved fossilised corollas with 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 styles from flowers of a plant that has been named ''Strychnos electri'' (the Latin name of amber is ''electrum''), believed to be a vine, were discovered in amber from the Dominican Republic. The amber is from tropical tree '' Hymenaea protera'', formerly abundant but now extinct, which formed part of the forest canopy. The age of the amber is believed to be between 15 and 45 million years, from the mid-Tertiary period
The Tertiary ( ) is an obsolete Period (geology), geologic period spanning 66 million to 2.6 or 1.8 million years ago. The period began with the extinction of the non-bird, avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at t ...
. This demonstrates an early date for these plants.[New species of ancient tropical flower found in amber from the Dominican Republic](_blank)
Rachel Sullivan, ABC News Online, 16 February 2016[, Article number 16005]
Gallery
File:Strychnos madagascariensis (4337703118).jpg, '' Strychnos madagascariensis''
File:Strychnos nux-vomica flowers 04.JPG, '' Strychnos nux-vomica'' flowers
File:Strychnos potatorum 05.jpg, '' Strychnos potatorum''
File:Strychnos psilosperma foliage and fruit.jpg, '' Strychnos psilosperma''
File:Strychnos pungens, blomme, b, Seringveld.jpg, '' Strychnos pungens'' flowers
File:Strychnos pungens, vrug, Little Eden.jpg, '' Strychnos pungens'' detached fruit
File:Strychnos spinosa tree.jpg, '' Strychnos spinosa'' tree in fruit
File:Strychnos usambarensis00.jpg, '' Strychnos usambarensis'' in flower
File:Strychnos usambarensis02.jpg, '' Strychnos usambarensis'' in fruit
See also
* List of Southern African indigenous trees and woody lianes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Gentianales genera
Pantropical flora