Camptotheca Acuminata
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''Camptotheca acuminata'' is a species of
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
in the '' Camptotheca'' genus that is native to north
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and southern
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It is also cultivated in the southern United States. A
eudicot The eudicots or eudicotyledons are flowering plants that have two seed leaves (cotyledons) upon germination. The term derives from ''dicotyledon'' (etymologically, ''eu'' = true; ''di'' = two; ''cotyledon'' = seed leaf). Historically, authors h ...
, it is a flowering
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
tree with light gray bark. It can grow to a height of . Its large, papery leaves are somewhat oval in shape, usually long and wide. The flowers, which bloom from May through July, produce a gray-brown fruit with one seed in September.


Uses

''Camptotheca acuminata'' is a source of
camptothecin Camptothecin (CPT) is a topoisomerase inhibitor. It was discovered in 1966 by M. E. Wall and M. C. Wani in systematic screening of natural products for anticancer drugs. It was isolated from the Bark (botany), bark of ''Camptotheca acuminata'' (ε– ...
chemicals, which have been tested for potential use as treatments for cancer and HIV. The modern
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
drugs
topotecan Topotecan, sold under the brand name Hycamtin among others, is a chemotherapeutic agent medication that is a topoisomerase inhibitor. It is a synthetic, water-soluble analog of the natural chemical compound camptothecin. It is used in the ...
and
irinotecan Irinotecan, sold under the brand name Camptosar among others, is an anti-cancer medication used to treat colon cancer and small cell lung cancer. For colon cancer it is used either alone or with fluorouracil. For small cell lung cancer it is ...
are derived from it, though now the molecules are produced in a lab environment rather than extracted from the leaves and bark of the tree. Because of this, it is sometimes called the "cancer tree". 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 ...
, the tree is called xi shu ("tree of joy" or "happy tree") and was considered a relatively unimportant
medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...
. The tree is also grown for
shade Shade, Shades or Shading may refer to: * Shade (color), a mixture of a color with black (often generalized as any variety of a color) * Shade (shadow), the blocking of sunlight * Shades or sunglasses * Shading, a process used in art and graphic ...
and ornamental value. File:ε–œζ¨Ή Camptotheca acuminata -ζ˜†ζ˜ŽδΈ–εšεœ’ Kunming Expo Garden, China- (9219875485).jpg File:Camptotheca acuminata Decne. (AM AK304628-3).jpg File:Camptotheca acuminata - Chengdu Botanical Garden - Chengdu, China - DSC03562.JPG File:190823 104 Encinitas CA, San Diego Bot Gdn - Bamboo Gdn, Camptotheca acuminata Xi Shu or Happy Tree.jpg


References


Further reading

* Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne. * Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. * Wu, Z., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D. (eds.) (2007). Flora of China 13: 1-548. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. * Wu Chi-Jun (1848). Zhi Wu Ming Shi Du Gao llustrated Investigations of the Names and Natures of Plants Beijing. {{Taxonbar, from=Q9301049 Trees of Northern America Trees of China Trees of Vietnam Trees of Tibet Nyssaceae Medicinal plants of East Asia Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine