Recent from talks
Nothing was collected or created yet.
Atropa
View on Wikipedia
| Atropa | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Subfamily: | Solanoideae |
| Tribe: | Hyoscyameae |
| Genus: | Atropa L. (1753)[1] |
| Species[2] | |
|
6, see text | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Atropa is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae: tall, calcicole, herbaceous perennials (rhizomatous hemicryptophytes), bearing large leaves and glossy berries particularly dangerous to children, due to their combination of an attractive, cherry-like appearance with a high toxicity.[3] Atropa species favour temperate climates and alkaline soils, often growing in light shade in woodland environments associated with limestone hills and mountains.[4][5] Their seeds can remain viable in the soil for long periods, germinating when the soil of sites in which plants once grew (but from which plants have long been absent) is disturbed by human activity[6] or by natural causes, e.g. the windthrow of trees (a property shared by the seeds of other Solanaceae in tribe Hyoscyameae e.g. those of Hyoscyamus spp., the henbanes).[7] The best-known member of the genus Atropa is deadly nightshade (A. belladonna) – the poisonous plant par excellence in the minds of many.[8] The pharmacologically active ingredients of Atropa species include atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine, all tropane alkaloids having anticholinergic, deliriant, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties.[citation needed] The genus is named for Άτροπος (Atropos) – lit. 'she who may not be turned (aside)' – one of the Three Fates and cutter of the thread of life / bringer of death – in reference to the extreme toxicity of A.belladonna and its fellow species – of which four others are currently accepted.[9][10]
In some older classifications, the mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) has been placed in the genus Atropa, under the binomial Atropa mandragora.
Species
[edit]Six species and one natural hybrid are accepted.[2]
- Atropa acuminata Royle ex Lindl. – Indian belladonna/maitbrand (Kashmir and adjoining regions of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, also N. Iran). Endangered.
- Atropa baetica Willk. – Andalusian belladonna / tabaco gordo / tabba (S. and S.E. Spain and W. North Africa). Endangered.
- Atropa belladonna L. – Belladonna/deadly nightshade (Europe, West Asia and North Africa). A very variable species with a very extensive distribution.
- Atropa indobelladonna Karthik. & V.S.Kumar – Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas
- Atropa komarovii Blin.& Shalyt – Turkmenistan belladonna (Kopet Dag range dividing Iran from Turkmenistan and adjoining regions in N.E. (Caspian) Iran). Distinctive in that flowers borne singly.
- Atropa × martiana Font Quer (A. baetica × A. belladonna) – Morocco and east-central and southern Spain
- Atropa pallidiflora Schönb.-Tem. – Hyrcanian belladonna (Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests, notably those of Mazandaran province, N. Iran, also Afghanistan).[11][12]
The genus Atropa is currently under review, so changes in nomenclature are likely, once said review is complete. It will be seen from the above that there is an overlap in the respective distributions of A. acuminata, A. komarovii and A. pallidiflora in the lush Hyrcanian forests of Northern Iran, and it is possible that some or all of these species may yet be subsumed in the concept Atropa belladonna. A. belladonna itself (including its variety caucasica) is also present in the Hyrcanian forests and vol. 100 of Flora Iranica includes a useful key with which to distinguish the four species occurring in northern Iran. Data on A. pallidiflora and A. acuminata Royle ex Miers are neither abundant nor readily accessible on the Internet at present. The reported presence of an Atropa species in Mongolia is intriguing, given that country's relative remoteness from Kashmir and its (Kashmir's) well-attested population of Atropa acuminata Royle ex Lindl. The unequivocal presence of Atropa in the Eastern Himalaya would go at least some way to bridging the gap between Kashmiri and Mongolian populations of this genus. Some light might be cast upon this problem by the gaining of better knowledge concerning the rare and poorly-known species A. indobelladonna, found in Arunachal Pradesh and adjoining areas of Assam. This was first described in 1961 under the name Pauia belladonna, as the sole species of the monotypic genus Pauia, the specific name belladonna being bestowed by authors Deb and Dutta because of its partial similarity to Indian belladonna (Atropa acuminata Royle ex Lindl).[13] In 2020 It was placed in genus Atropa, on the strength of evidence scant, to say the least, and somewhat at variance with the original anatomical line drawings of the species. No photographic images of the species are currently viewable on the internet.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Atropa L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ a b c Atropa L. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants : A Handbook for Pharmacists, Doctors, Toxicologists, and Biologists by Frohne, Dietrich and Pfänder, Hans Jürgen of University of Kiel, translated from second German edition by Norman Grainger Bisset, London : a Wolfe Science Book and one of the volumes in the illustrated series Wolfe Atlases, pub. Wolfe Publishing Ltd. 1984.
- ^ Flora Europaea, Tutin T.G., Heywood V.H. and Burgess N.A. pub. Cambridge University Press 2010 ISBN 0521154065
- ^ Flora Iberica http://www.floraiberica.es/floraiberica/texto/pdfs/11_134_10_Atropa.pdf
- ^ HERRERA, C.M.(1987). Distribucion, ecologia y conservacion de Atropa baetica Willk. (Solanaceae) en la Sierra de Cazorla. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 43(2):387-398. http://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/2965654.pdf
- ^ Flora Britannica pps. 300-301, Mabey, Richard, pub. Sinclair-Stevenson 1996
- ^ Largo, Michael (18 August 2014). "Big, Bad Botany: Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna), the Poisonous A-Lister". Slate. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ "Atropa – The Plant List". theplantlist.org. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- ^ The Biology and Taxonomy of the Solanaceae edited by Hawkes, J.G., Lester, R.N. and Skelding, A.D. (Linnean Society Symposium Series Number 7) Published for the Linnean Society of London by Academic Press 1979.
- ^ Rechinger, Karl Heinz and Schönbeck-Temesy, Eva 1972. Solanaceae. Nº 100 de Flora Iranica : Flora des iranischen Hochlandes und der umrahmenden Gebirge; Persien, Afghanistan, Teile von West-Pakistan, Nord-Iraq, Azerbaidjan, Turkmenistan. 102 pp.
- ^ "Flora Iranica" (PDF). nhm-wien.ac.at. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Armando T. Hunziker: The Genera of Solanaceae. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag K.G., Ruggell, Liechtenstein 2001. ISBN 3-904144-77-4.
- ^ "Atropa indobelladonna Karthik. & V.S.Kumar | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
Atropa
View on GrokipediaTaxonomy
Etymology
The genus name Atropa derives from Atropos, one of the three Moirai (Fates) in Greek mythology, who was responsible for severing the thread of life with her shears, symbolizing an inexorable end.[5] This name was selected by Carl Linnaeus to reflect the highly toxic and often fatal properties of the plants in the genus, evoking the inescapable doom associated with their poisoning.[2] Linnaeus formally established the genus Atropa in his seminal work Species Plantarum (volume 1, page 181), published in 1753, where he introduced binomial nomenclature for plants and highlighted the deadly nature of these species through the mythological allusion.[6] The choice underscores the historical recognition of the genus's potent alkaloids, which can lead to rapid and irreversible physiological effects.[5]Classification
Atropa is a genus of flowering plants classified within the family Solanaceae, order Solanales, class Magnoliopsida, phylum Tracheophyta, and kingdom Plantae.[1] Within Solanaceae, it belongs to the subfamily Solanoideae and the tribe Hyoscyameae.[7] Phylogenetic analyses place Atropa in close relation to genera such as Hyoscyamus and Anisodus within the tribe Hyoscyameae, with molecular studies based on chloroplast DNA and nuclear markers indicating divergence in temperate regions of Eurasia.[7][8] This divergence is supported by evidence of ancient polyploidy events and shared retroposon insertions that distinguish Atropa as an early-branching lineage in the tribe.[9] The genus Atropa was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum, where he established Atropa belladonna as the type species.[1] Taxonomic revisions in the 19th and 20th centuries refined species boundaries, with notable additions including Atropa baetica described in 1852 and Atropa pallidiflora in 1972, addressing morphological variations across Eurasian distributions.[10][11] As of 2025, Plants of the World Online recognizes six accepted species in the genus, though debates persist regarding the status of certain hybrids and potential synonyms.[1] Historical misclassifications have included the placement of some Atropa species in separate genera, such as early synonymy of Atropa acaulis with Mandragora officinarum, later corrected through morphological and molecular reassessments.[12] One ongoing point of contention involves the hybrid Atropa × martiana (a cross between A. baetica and A. belladonna), which is accepted as a distinct nothospecies in regions of overlap in Spain and Morocco but raises questions about natural hybridization and species delimitation.[13]Species
The genus Atropa includes six accepted species, all toxic perennial herbs native to temperate regions of Eurasia and North Africa, distinguished primarily by variations in flower color, fruit morphology, and geographic isolation.[1]- Atropa acuminata Royle ex Lindl., known as Indian belladonna, is a branched perennial herb up to 1.6 m tall with fistular stems, ovate-lanceolate leaves 8–17 cm long, and solitary nodding purple flowers.[14]
- Atropa baetica Willk., or Andalusian belladonna, is a rhizomatous perennial reaching 1.7 m with erect glabrous stems, pale greenish-yellow flowers veined in purple, and green berries turning black; it is considered threatened due to its rarity.[15][16][17]
- Atropa bella-donna L., commonly called deadly nightshade, features dull purple bell-shaped flowers and glossy black berries on plants up to 2 m tall.[18][19]
- Atropa indobelladonna Karthik. & V.S. Kumar, a recently described species from 2020, is a perennial herb similar to A. acuminata but with more acuminate leaves and purple flowers adapted to high-altitude habitats.[20]
- Atropa komarovii Blin. & Shalyt. is a taller perennial up to 1.8 m with broad leaves, greenish-yellow flowers veined purple, and soft berries.[21][22]
- Atropa pallidiflora Schönb.-Tem. is a shrubby perennial 20–90 cm tall with pale flowers and berries containing tropane alkaloids.[11][23]