Triosteum, commonly known in American English as horse-gentian
Derivation of genus name
The name
Triosteum is a compound of the
Greek language tria 'three' and
osteon '
bone', in reference to the three hard pyrenes ( pips / pits ) in each drupe ( berry ) - giving the meaning 'having three pits ( as hard as ) bone'.
[Linnaeus, Carl Species Plantarum 1: 176. 1753.]
Description
Triosteum spp. are perennial, herbaceous plants of rich woods. Each plant typically consists of at least one erect, round, hairy, fistular stem, 1 to 4 feet (0.3 to 1.2m) high, with opposite ovate-lanceolate
Entire leaf leaves, and whitish to purplish flowers presented either in
whorls or terminal
. The fruit is a
drupe.
It may be white, yellow, orange, or red, depending on the species.
Species
Six species, including three varieties, and one natural hybrid are currently accepted.
[
]
-
Triosteum angustifolium – yellowfruit horse-gentian, native to the eastern United States
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Triosteum aurantiacum – orangefruit horse-gentian, native to the eastern United States
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Triosteum aurantiacum var. aurantiacum
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Triosteum aurantiacum var. glaucescens
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Triosteum aurantiacum var. illinoense – named for the U.S. state of Illinois.
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Triosteum himalayanum – 穿心莛子藨 chuan xin ting zi biao, native to China, Bhutan, Nepal, and India
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Triosteum perfoliatum - feverwort, Native to the eastern United States
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Triosteum pinnatifidum – 莛子藨 ting zi biao, native to China and Japan
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Triosteum sinuatum – 腋花莛子藨 ye hua ting zi biao, native to east Asia
Cultivation
Certain species in the genus are sometimes cultivated for their colorful fruits, although the plants have been characterised as 'somewhat weedy perennials' and their flowers are, in general smaller and less showy than those of the related genus Lonicera, the honeysuckles.[The Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening ed. Chittenden, Fred J., 2nd edition, by Synge, Patrick M. Volume IV : Pt-Zy Pub. Oxford at the Clarendon Press 1965. Reprinted 1984. p.2149.]
Uses
American species : the dried and roasted fruits have been occasionally used as a substitute for coffee; but they are chiefly valued for their medicinal properties, the roots having been used as an emetic and mild cathartic. The drug is sometimes called Tinker's root, after Dr. Tinker, who first brought it to notice.[Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). CRC World dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms and etymology. Volume V R-Z. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. pps. 636-7.]
Asiatic species : The ripe fruits of Triosteum himalayanum Wallich. have been used for 'blood purification' in the Himalayas.[Re. pseudoscientific notion of 'blood purification'
]
retrieved 4.27pm on 2/5/18.
Chemistry
Five monoterpene (vincosamide-6′-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), vincosamide (2), strictosamide (3), strictosidine (4), and 5(S)-5-carboxystrictosidine (5)), two monoterpene diglycosides ( see Glycoside ) (urceolide (6) and 4(S)-4-hydroxyurceolide (7))[Chai,Xin, Su,Yan-Fang, Yan,Shi-Lun, Huang,Xiong Chemical Constituents of the Roots of Triosteum pinnatifidum
Retrieved 11.20am on 4/5/18] and 10 iridoids, ( triohimas A–C, naucledal, secologanin dimethyl acetal, grandifloroside, sweroside, loganin, vogeloside and (E)-aldosecologanin ) have recently been isolated from the roots of Triosteum pinnatifidum Maxim. Most of the iridoids in question were derived from loganin or secologanin with a glucose moiety at C-1 position and these findings indicate a close relationship between the genera Triosteum and Lonicera, and support the viewpoint that the iridoids derived from loganin or secologanin could be considered Chemotaxonomy markers for the family Caprifoliaceae.[Chai,Xin, Su,Yan-Fang, Zheng,Yunhui and Gao,Xiu-Mei Iridoids from the roots of Triosteum pinnatifidum
Retrieved 11.16am on 4/5/18]
External links
