Menispermaceae (botanical Latin: 'moonseed family' from Greek mene 'crescent moon' and sperma 'seed') is a family of . The alkaloid tubocurarine, a neuromuscular blocker and the active ingredient in the 'tube curare' form of the dart poison curare, is derived from the South American liana Chondrodendron tomentosum, which belongs to this family. Several other South American genera belonging to the family have been used to prepare the 'pot' and 'calabash' forms of curare. The family contains 81 Genus[ with some 440 species,]
Description
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Twining, ever-growing and woody climbing plants, winding anti-clockwise ( Stephania winds clockwise) and ; rarely upright or small . Rarer still herbaceous plants or ( Stephania cyanantha), perennial or deciduous, with simple to uni-serrate hairs.
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Alternating, spiral leaf; simple, whole, dentate, lobed to palmatifid (bi- o trifoliate in Burasaia), frequently peltate, petiolated, petiole frequently pulvinate at both extremes, without , sometimes with spines derived from the petioles ( Antizoma), venation, parallelodromous, penninerved or frequently palmatinerved, bifacial, rarely isofacial; in Angelisia and Anamirta, with derived from . Domatium present in five genera as pits or hair tufts. Various types of , frequently cyclocytic.
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Rapidly-growing Plant stem with trilacunar nodes. are present in Cocculus balfourii.
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Dioecy , sometimes perfect flowers in Tiliacora acuminata and Parabaena denudata.
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in Raceme, Panicle or thyrse with partial inflorescences in a capituliform cyme or Panicle; multifloral, rarely single or paired flowers; axillary, or on sharp branches or Cauliflory trunks; females frequently less branched.
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small, regular to zygomorphic ( Antizoma, Cyclea, Cissampelos); cyclic to irregularly spiral; hypogynous, basically trimers. Receptacle sometimes with developed gynophore. (1-)3-12 or more, usually in (1-)2(-many) whorls of three, rarely six; free to slightly fused; imbricate or valvate, sometimes less numerous in female flowers. numbering 0–6, in two whorls of three, rarely of six; free or fused, frequently holding the opposite stamen; sometimes less numerous in female flowers. Androecium of (1-)3-6(-40) free of the perianth, free or fused together in 2–5, fasciculate or monadelphous, introrse, dehiscence along longitudinal, oblique or transversal slits. Female flowers sometimes with staminodes. Gynoecium apocarpous, superior, of (1-)3-6(-32) , usually oppositipetalous, stigma apical, dry, papillous, 2 per carpel, anatropous, hemianatropous to campilotropous, uni- or bitegmic, crassinucellate, the superior epitropous and fertile, the inferior apotropous and abortive, placentation marginal ventral. Male flowers sometimes with carpelodes.
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are compound; each unit in a straight or flattened, asymmetric drupe; more or less stipitate (rarely only one developed); non coalescing; Fruit anatomy sub-coriaceous or membranous, Fruit anatomy pulpy, fleshy or fibrous, Fruit anatomy woody to petrous, rough, tuberous, echinate or ribbed, often with a recess in the placenta called a condyle.
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slightly curved or spiral ( Limaciopsis, Spirospermum), with endosperm absent or present, totally or only ventrally ruminate or not ruminate, oleaginous, embryo straight or curved, with two cotyledons flat or cylindrical, leafy or fleshy, divaricate or applied.
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Pollen tricolpate, without operculum nor , tectum perreticulate columellate, endexine granular; or the pollen can be colporate ( Abuta), syncolporate ( Tinospora), pororate or hexa-cryptoporate (with 6 apertures).
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Chromosome: x = 11, 13, 19, 25. 2n can be up to 52.
Ecology
It is thought that the cauliflorous species are pollinated by small , or Fly although there are no direct observations of this. Birds disperse the purple or black drupes, for example Sayornis phoebe (a tyrant flycatcher) eats the fruit of Cocculus. In Tinospora cordifolia a lapse of 6–8 weeks has been observed between fertilization and the first Zygote cell division.
The Menispermaceae predominantly inhabit low elevation tropical forests (up to 2,100m), where they are climbers, but some genera and species have adapted to arid locations ( Antizoma species have adapted to the South African deserts or Cebatha balfourii and its have adapted to the climate on the island of Socotra) and other temperate climates. C3 photosynthesis has been recorded in Menispermum.
Phytochemistry
The family contains a wide range of benzylisoquinoline compounds () and such as furofuran, flavones and flavonols and some . The most notable are the wide variety of alkaloids derived from benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline and aporphine, which accumulate as dimers, as well as the alkaloids derived from morphinan and from hasubanan and other diverse types of alkaloid such as derivative of aza-fluoranthene. Sesquiterpenes such as picrotoxin and diterpenes such as clerodane diterpene are also present, while the triterpenes are scarce and where present are similar to oleanane. Ecdysone steroids have also been found. Some species are cyanogenic.
Uses
The Menispermaceae have been used in traditional pharmacopeia and drugs have been formulated from these plants that are of great use in modern medicine. These drugs are based on alkaloids and include tubocurarine from curare, a poison used by indigenous South American tribes on their poison darts, that is obtained from species of Curarea, Chondrodendron, Sciadotenia, and Telitoxicum. A similar poison was used in Asia that was obtained from species of Anamirta, Tinospora, Coscinium, and Cocculus. Tubocurarine and its synthetic derivatives are used to relax muscles during surgical interventions. The roots of "kalumba" or "colombo" ( Jateorhiza palmata) are used in Africa for stomach problems and against dysentery. Species of Tinospora are used in Asia as antipyretics, the fruit of Anamirta cocculus is used to poison fish and birds and the stems of Fibraurea are used to dye fabric yellow. The South East Asian species Coscinium fenestratum, a local Thai remedy for stomach ailments (which contains berberine and related alkaloids) was recently implicated in mass harvesting operations to prepare extracts usable as precursors in the manufacture of the drug MDMA.[See the documentary film: "Death in the Forest"
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Retrieved 11.42 on 10/11/18
Fossil record
The Middle Cretaceous genus Callicrypta from Siberia has been placed into Menispermaceae.
Menispermaceae is one of the most diverse families found in the Middle Eocene Clarno Formation of central Oregon. Species belonging to thirteen different genera, mostly extinct, have been described based on cast or permineralized fruit and nut fossils from the beds, and four different foliage types are known from associated compression fossils. Chandlera and Odontocaryoideae were described by Scott (1954), while Manchester (1994) described Curvitinospora and Thanikaimonia.
Phylogeny and internal classification
The APG IV system (2016; unchanged from the prior systems of APG system, 2003, and 2009) recognizes this family and places it with the eudicots order Ranunculales. Their trimerous flower structure is similar to the Lardizabalaceae and Berberidaceae, although they differ from them in other important characteristics. The APW (Angiosperm Phylogeny Website) considers that they form part of the Order Ranunculales, and that they are a sister group on the branch formed by the Lardizabalaceae and Berberidaceae families in a reasonably advanced clade of the order.[ totaling 420 extant species,]
The genetic factors within Menispermaceae are very narrow resulting in many genera with one or a few species. According to Kessler (1993)
Chasmantheroideae
Burasaieae
Coscinieae
Menispermoideae
Anomospermeae
Cissampelidae
Limacieae
Menispermeae
Pachygoneae
Spirospermeae
Tiliacoreae
- Incertae sedis
==Gallery==
species A. selloana : line drawing from Engler's Das Pflanzenreich.]]
: A. schomburgkii : anatomical study from the Flora Brasiliensis of von Martius and Eichler.]]
species S. venosa in flower, Gothenburg Botanical Garden.]]
villagers harvesting large, medicinal root tuber of Stephania venosa''.]]
External links
