Agathosma is a genus of about 140 species of in the family Rutaceae, native to the southern part of Africa. Common names include buchu, boegoe, bucco, bookoo, and diosma. Buchu formally denotes two Herbalism species, prized for their fragrance and medicinal use despite their toxicity. In Colloquialism use however, the term (see Boegoe) is applied to a wider set of fragrant shrubs or substitutes.
They are small and , mostly with erect woody stems reaching tall, but low-growing and prostrate in some species. The leaf are usually opposite, ericoid, often crowded, simple, entire, from long. The are produced in terminal clusters, diameter, with five white, pink, red or purple, petals.
Many of the species are highly aromatic, and the genus name means "good fragrance". Some species of the genus are used as remedies.
Uses
Two species of
Agathosma endemic to the Western Cape mountains of
South Africa and colloquially referred to as "buchu" are cultivated on a commercial basis for their essential oils,
Agathosma betulina and
Agathosma crenulata. The leaves of
Agathosma betulina have been used in traditional medicine. Bottled agathosma
were widely sold in English-speaking countries as "buchu tea" in the 1860s and 1870s.
Although demand declined in the 1880s, consumption has continued to the present day; as of 2012, bottled infusions continue to be prepared from agathosma leaves. In addition, traditional buchu tinctures can be prepared by placing leaves and stalks into brandy. "Buchu vinegar", prepared by steeping the leaves and stalks in vinegar, also is a traditional remedy used for example in compresses and also taken internally.[Watt, John Mitchell, Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina: The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa 2nd ed Pub. E & S Livingstone 1962]
The essential oil is used in the manufacture of flavorings and perfume. There appear to be differences in people's perceptions of the smell, possibly determined genetically, rather than by familiarity or nurture. Some people find the smell to be repulsive, while most find it pleasantly herbal. This is not particularly unusual in reaction to the smells of many aromatic Karoo shrubs.
Gallery
Agathosma commercially grown 01.jpg|Buchu ( Agathosma) being commercially grown in the Groot Winterhoek mountains of the Western Cape
Agathosma apiculata0.jpg| Agathosma apiculata
Selected species
- List sources :
[,][ N O T E : In spite of the fact that A. villosa has been designated as the type species of the genus Agathosma, The Plant List regards it to be a synonym of A. glabrata ],
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A. abrupta Pillans
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A. acocksii Pillans
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A. acutissima Dümmer
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A. adenandriflora Schltr.
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Agathosma adnata Pillans
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Agathosma aemula Schltr.
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A. affinis Sond.
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Agathosma alaris Cham.
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A. alligans I.Williams
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Agathosma alpina Schltr.
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A. alticola Schltr. ex Dümmer
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A. anomala E.Mey. ex Sond.
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A. apiculata E.Mey. ex Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. asperifolia Eckl. & Zeyh.
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A. barnesiae Compton
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Agathosma bathii (Dümmer) Pillans
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A. betulina (P.J.Bergius) Pillans
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A. bicolor Dümmer
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A. bicornuta R.A.Dyer
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Agathosma bifida Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. bisulca Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. blaerioides Cham.
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A. bodkinii Dümmer
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A. capensis (L.) Dümmer
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A. capitata Sond.
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A. cedrimontana Dümmer
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A. cephalodes E.Mey. ex Sond.
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A. cerefolia (Vent.) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. ciliaris (L.) Druce
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A. ciliata (L.) Link
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A. clavisepala R.A.Dyer
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A. collina Eckl. & Zeyh.
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A. concava Pillans
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A. conferta Pillans
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A. cordifolia Pillans
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A. corymbosa (Montin) G.Don
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A. craspedota E.Mey. ex Sond.
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A. crassifolia Sond.
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A. crenulata (L.) Pillans
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A. decurrens Pillans
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A. dentata Pillans
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A. dielsiana Schltr. ex Dümmer
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A. distans Pillans
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A. divaricata Pillans
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A. dregeana Sond.
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Agathosma elata Sond.
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A. elegans Cham.
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A. eriantha (Steud.) Steud.
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A. esterhuyseniae Pillans
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A. florida Sond.
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A. florulenta Sond.
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A. foetidissima (Bartl. & H.C.Wendl.) Steud. – Bokboegoe
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A. foleyana Dümmer
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A. fraudulenta Sond.
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A. geniculata Pillans
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A. giftbergensis E.Phillips
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A. glabrata Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. glandulosa (Thunb.) Sond.
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A. gnidiiflora Dümmer
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A. gonaquensis Eckl. & Zeyh. – Gonaqua buchu
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A. hirsuta Pillans
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Agathosma hirta Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. hispida (Thunb.) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. hookeri Sond.
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A. humilis Sond.
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A. imbricata (L.) Willd.
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A. insignis (Compton) Pillans
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A. involucrata Eckl. & Zeyh.
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A. joubertiana Schltdl.
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A. juniperifolia Bartl.
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A. kougaensis Pillans
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A. krakadouwensis Dümmer
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A. lanceolata (L.) Engl.
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A. lancifolia Eckl. & Zeyh.
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A. latipetala Sond.
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A. leptospermoides Sond.
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A. linifolia (Licht. ex Roem. & Schult.) Licht. ex Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. longicornu Pillans
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A. marifolia Eckl. & Zeyh.
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A. marlothii Dümmer
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A. martiana Sond.
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A. microcalyx Dümmer
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A. microcarpa (Sond.) Pillans
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Agathosma minuta Schltdl.
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A. mirabilis Pillans
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A. mucronulata Sond. – Buchu
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Agathosma muirii E.Phillips
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A. mundtii Cham. & Schltdl.
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A. namaquensis Pillans
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A. odoratissima (Montin) Pillans
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A. orbicularis (Thunb.) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. ovalifolia Pillans
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Agathosma ovata (Thunb.) Pillans – False buchu
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A. pallens Pillans
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A. pattisonae Dümmer
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A. peglerae Dümmer
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A. pentachotoma E.Mey. ex Sond.
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A. perdita Hutch.
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A. phillipsii Dümmer
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A. pilifera Schltdl.
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A. planifolia Sond.
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A. propinqua Sond.
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A. puberula (Steud.) Fourc.
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A. pubigera Sond.
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A. pulchella (L.) Link
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A. pungens (E.Mey. ex Sond.) Pillans
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A. purpurea Pillans
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A. recurvifolia Sond.
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A. rehmanniana Dümmer
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A. riversdalensis Dümmer
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A. robusta Eckl. & Zeyh.
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A. roodebergensis Compton
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A. rosmarinifolia (Bartl.) I.Williams
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A. rubricaulis Dümmer
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A. rudolphii I.Williams
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A. sabulosa Sond.
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Agathosma salina Eckl. & Zeyh.
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A. scaberula Dümmer
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A. sedifolia Schltdl.
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A. serpyllacea Licht. ex Schult.
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A. serratifolia (Curtis) Spreeth
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A. sladeniana Glover
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A. spinescens Dümmer
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A. spinosa Sond.
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A. squamosa (Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. stenopetala (Steud.) Steud.
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A. stenosepala Pillans
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A. stilbeoides Dümmer
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A. stipitata Pillans
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A. stokoei Pillans
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A. subteretifolia Pillans
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A. tabularis Sond.
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A. thymifolia Schltdl.
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A. trichocarpa Holmes
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A. tulbaghensis Dümmer
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A. umbonata Pillans
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A. unicarpellata (Fourc.) Pillans
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A. venusta (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Pillans
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A. villosa (Willd.) Willd. (type)
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A. virgata (Lam.) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.
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A. zwartbergensis Pillans
Notes
External links
