''Atropanthe'' ( Chinese name 天蓬子 ''tian peng zi'') is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

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 tribe

Hyoscyameae Hyoscyameae is an Old World Tribe (biology), tribe of the subfamily Solanoideae of the flowering plant family Solanaceae. It comprises seven genera: ''Anisodus'', ''Atropa'', ''Atropanthe'', ''Hyoscyamus'', ''Physochlaina'', ''Przewalskia'' and ' ...

of subfamily

Solanoideae Solanoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Solanaceae, and is sister to the subfamily Nicotianoideae. Within Solanaceae, Solanoideae contains some of the most economically important genera and species, such as the tomato (''Solanum ...

of the family

Solanaceae Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

. The single species, ''

Atropanthe sinensis ''Atropanthe'' ( Chinese name 天蓬子 ''tian peng zi'') is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to tribe Hyoscyameae of subfamily Solanoideae of the family Solanaceae. The single species, '' Atropanthe sinensis'' is native to the t ...

'' is native to the temperate forests of S. Central China (to

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

). It is a herbaceous perennial (specifically a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

hemicryptophyte) which bears a marked similarity (particularly in regard to the form of the corolla) to the related genus

Atropa ''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 combi ...

- whence the genus name Atropanthe ( meaning ‘having a flower resembling that of Atropa’). Unlike Atropa, however (and in common with the other genera belonging to subtribe Hyoscyaminae of Hyoscyameae) Atropanthe bears a dry, pyxidial fruit, resembling a pot with a lid (Atropa, the sole member of subtribe Atropinae, bears, by contrast, a fruit taking the form of a juicy, glistening

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

Description

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

(apart from the

pubescent The adjective pubescent may describe: * people or animals undergoing puberty * plants that are hairy, covered in trichomes * insects that are covered in setae In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-lik ...

inflorescence)

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). The term is often interch ...

perennial herb In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

arising from thick

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s to a height of 0.8-1.5 m and bearing erect,

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section (geometry), cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and S ...

or angled stems of a dark blue-purple colour, each bearing two or three green branches. Leaves mostly paired, petiolate, entire, petioles 1-4.5 cm; leaf blades

elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

, 11-22 × 4–12 cm, papery, glabrous, bases cuneate, slightly

decurrent ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...

, tips pointed. Flowers greenish-yellow, borne singly in the leaf axils. Corolla circa 3.2 cm, 5-lobed, somewhat

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spir ...

, tubular-campanulate, twice as long as calyx, 15-veined; lobes subequal, corolla aestivation quincuncial.

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 inserted in corolla tube, unequal, shorter than or equaling corolla; filaments circa 2 cm, unequal, circinnate in the bud and curved at flowering, inserted near the base of the corolla, pubescent at base; anthers somewhat heart-shaped, ventrifixed, 4-4.5mm

dehiscing Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that op ...

longitudinally. Disc orange, ringlike, slightly lobed. Pedicel at time of flowering elongate, glabrous 1-2.5 cm. Calyx at flowering tubular-

campanulate This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

or somewhat

urceolate This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

, slightly inflated, somewhat bent, 15-veined, with 5 main veins, papery, glabrous, circa 2 cm; lobes subequal, deltate to rounded

erose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

glabrescent Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

. Pedicel at time of fruiting barely thickened, 3-3.5 cm. Fruiting calyx hanging downward, the broad inflated base uppermost and the constricted but open mouth held below, conical, ovoid, or oblong, usually lantern-like/

top Top most commonly refers to: * Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides * Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy * Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso * Mountain top, a moun ...

-shaped, 2.5–3 cm in diameter, inserted abruptly on pedicel and easily detached from it after drying. Fruit a pyxidium (i.e. a capsule resembling a pot with a lid), the downward-pointing operculum (= "lid") dehiscing to liberate seeds which fall, on ripening, through the downward-pointing opening of the bladder-like fruiting calyx. Pyxidium turbinate (shaped like a spinning top) 1.8–2 cm in diameter, containing some 40-50 seeds. Seeds brown, rectangular, somewhat compressed, circa 3 × 2.5 mm, the testa thick, bearing a wavy-netted pattern (foveolate).

Range

An area encompassing NW

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

, W

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

, SE

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and NE

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

and including the

Hengduan Mountains The Hengduan Mountains () are a group of mountain ranges in southwest China, southwest China that connect the southeast portions of the Tibetan Plateau with the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. The Hengduan Mountains are primarily large north-south ...

Habitat

Humid places (moist soils), along ditches, forests; at altitudes of 1400–3000 m.

Medicinal use

Like all the other

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

of the Solanaceous tribe

(of which the best-known member is the infamous

deadly nightshade ''Atropa bella-donna'', commonly known as deadly nightshade or belladonna, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant. It is native to Europe and Western Asia, ...

), the genus Atropanthe is rich in

tropane alkaloid Tropane alkaloids are a class of bicyclic .2.1alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure. Tropane alkaloids occur naturally in many members of the plant family Solanaceae. Certain tropane alkaloi ...

s - compounds possessing

anticholinergic Anticholinergics (anticholinergic agents) are substances that block the action of the acetylcholine (ACh) neurotransmitter at synapses in the central nervous system, central and peripheral nervous system. These agents inhibit the parasympatheti ...

properties which are therapeutically useful in small doses and dangerously hallucinogenic (

deliriant Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics such as LSD and dissociatives such as ketamine, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to th ...

) in larger ones. The roots of the single species ''A. sinensis'' are used in

Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

for the relief of muscular spasm and pain.

Chemistry

''Atropanthe sinensis'' contains the tropane alkaloids

hyoscyamine Hyoscyamine (also known as daturine or duboisine) is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid and plant toxin. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the family Solanaceae, including Hyoscyamus niger, henbane, Mandragora officina ...

and anisodine and also the

pyrrolidine Pyrrolidine, also known as tetrahydropyrrole, is an organic compound with the molecular formula (CH2)4NH. It is a cyclic secondary amine, also classified as a saturated heterocycle. It is a colourless liquid that is miscible with water and most ...

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

bellaradine, a.k.a. cuscohygrine, (which is not one of the tropane alkaloids, but may be biogenetically related to them ) and occurs also in the closely related genera

Anisodus ''Anisodus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae. Habitat It is native to China, Tibet, India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Medicinal uses One species, ''Anisodus tanguticus'' (), is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditiona ...

and

Przewalskia ''Przewalskia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Its native range is western and central China, Tibet to eastern Himalaya. The genus name of ''Przewalskia'' is in honour of Nikolay Przhevalsky Nikolay Mi ...

Translation of Chinese common name

The Chinese vernacular name for A. sinensis, 天蓬子 has been transliterated into Latin script both as tiān péng zi and tien pung tzu. An approximate pronunciation (not allowing fully for the tonal aspect of Chinese) is "tien pong dzuu". The name is composed of the individual characters 天 tiān "heaven"/"sky"/"day” 蓬 péng "disheveled/flourishing/vigorous/forming clumps"Wiktionary page: 蓬 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/蓬#:~:text=)%3A%20%2F*bo%CB%90ŋ%2F-,Definitions,Korean%20mugwort%20(Artemisia%20princeps)Retrieved at 18.30 on Wednesday 5/7/23. and 子 zi variously "son", "seed" and a nominalising suffix (indicating the conversion into a noun of another part of speech). The two-character compound 天蓬 (tiān péng - minus the 子 zi) translates into English as "

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. 天蓬子 (tiān péng zi) in its entirety could thus, prosaically, indicate a vigorous and untidy, clump-forming plant, forming a canopy of foliage in which its seeds hang or are borne, unless 天 (tiān) were translated in the more metaphysical sense of "heaven"/"heavenly", intended to suggest that the effects of consuming the plant could be perceived as somehow

otherworld In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...

ly - a suggestion compatible with the well-documented use in ancient Chinese

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

practices of other Solanaceous plants as

entheogens Entheogens are psychoactive substances used in spiritual and religious contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. Hallucinogens such as the psilocybin found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancien ...

enabling the taker to "see spirits".

Botanical translations of 蓬 (péng)

A further complication in the translation of the plant name for Atropanthe 天蓬子 (tiān péng zi) is that the character 蓬 (péng) has a number of botanical translations in its own right, yielding the meanings "type of

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...

", Korean mugwort and fleabane. The raspberry plant (

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...

sp.) and ''Artemisia princeps'' (

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

), the Korean mugwort have in common the characteristic of being very vigorous plants and the mugwort is considered not only an edible plant but also a magical one, holding a prominent place in the story of the bear-woman,

Ungnyeo Ungnyeo () was a bear who became a woman according to the creation myth of the Korean nation. Story In the tale, a tiger and a bear lived together in a cave and prayed to the divine king Hwanung to be made human. Hwanung heard their prayers an ...

- the foundational myth of the Korean nation. It may be that ''Atropanthe sinensis'' was perceived in China to share certain characteristics of these plants - possibly simply their vigour or rapidity of growth/potential invasiveness.

''A. mairei'' synonym for plant in different family

A potential source of confusion in regard to the monotypic status of this Solanaceous genus is the existence of the binomial ''Atropanthe mairei'' , which is listed by Kew as a synonym of '' Cyananthus flavus'' subsp. montanus (the genus Cyananthus belongs, not to the Solanaceae, but to the bellflower family

Campanulaceae The family Campanulaceae (also bellflower family), of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap. Among them are several familiar garden plants bel ...

). ''Atropanthe mairei'' was identified by Lauener in 1978 as being ''Cyananthus albiflorus'' , which is now correctly known as ''C. flavus'' subsp. montanus NOVON 2(2): 124-128. 1992. Notes on the Solanaceae of China and Neighboring Areas, William G. D'Arcy & Zhang Zhi-yun http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/novon/darcy.htm Retrieved at 18.32 on Tuesday 4/7/23.

Gallery

File:Atropanthe sinensis GiardinoBotanicoAlpinoViote 20170902 B.jpg, ''A.sinensis'' (planted beside pink-flowered '' Anemone japonica'' and ''

Paeonia ludlowii ''Paeonia ludlowii'' is a deciduous shrub of medium height, belonging to the tree peony section ''Moutan'' of the genus Paeonia, and endemic to southeast Tibet. In Tibet it is known as ''≠'lumaidao meaning "God's flower". The vernacular name ...

'') in Viote Alpine Botanical Garden,

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

. Italian language label lists ‘

sedative A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or Psychomotor agitation, excitement. They are central nervous system (CNS) Depressant, depressants and interact with brain activity, causing its decelera ...

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

anaesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

’

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15281343 Hyoscyameae Solanaceae genera