''Camptotheca'' (happy tree, cancer tree, or tree of life) is a genus of medium-sized

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 leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s growing to tall, native to southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and Tibet. The genus is usually included in the tupelo family Nyssaceae, but sometimes included (with the tupelos) in the

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or ...

family

Cornaceae The Cornaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Cornales. The family contains approximately 85 species in two genera, '' Alangium'' and ''Cornus''. They are mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen, a ...

. The name "happy tree" is a direct translation of the Chinese name xǐ shù (

Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions ...

:喜树). There are two species: *''Camptotheca acuminata'' Decne. *'' Camptotheca lowreyana'' S.Y.Li The bark and stems of ''C. acuminata'' contain the

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of simila ...

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 and stem of '' Camptotheca acuminata'' (Campt ...

. Several chemical derivatives of camptothecin are under investigation for or used as drugs for cancer treatment, including

irinotecan Irinotecan, sold under the brand name Camptosar among others, is a 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 used with cispl ...

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 form ...

, rubitecan. ''C. acuminata'' also contains the chemical compounds trifolin and

hyperoside Hyperoside is a chemical compound. It is the 3-''O''- galactoside of quercetin. Natural occurrences Hyperoside has been isolated from ''Drosera rotundifolia'', from the Lamiaceae ''Stachys sp.'' and ''Prunella vulgaris'', from ''Rumex acetosell ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3274739 Nyssaceae Trees of China Cornales genera Taxa named by Joseph Decaisne