''Scopolia'' is a genus of four species of

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 in 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 ...

, native to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. The genus is named after Giovanni Scopoli (1723–88), a

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

ean

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. The genus has a disjunct distribution, with two recognised species in Central to

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, (including the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

), and two species in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. The two European species are: *'' Scopolia carniolica'' Jacq. of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

*'' Scopolia caucasica'' Kolesn. ex Kreyer of the

and the two Asiatic species are: *'' Scopolia lutescens'' Y.N. Lee of

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

*'' Scopolia japonica'' Maxim. of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

The four species in the equally medicinal genus '' Anisodus'' *'' Anisodus tanguticus'' ( Maxim.) Pascher *'' Anisodus luridus'' Link ex Spreng. *'' Anisodus carniolicoides'' (C.Y.Wu & C.Chen) D'Arcy & Z.Y.Zhang *'' Anisodus acutangulus'' C.Y.Wu & C.Chen have in the past been placed in the genus Scopolia, as has the monotypic genus Atropanthe with its single species '' Atropanthe sinensis'' Pascher.Germplasm Resources Information Networ
''Scopolia''
/ref> '' Scopolia carniolica'' - the longest-known species and the one with the westernmost distribution - is a creeping

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

, with light green leaves and dull reddish-purple flowers (cream-to-yellow in the attractive and more ornamental form ''hladnikiana'', sometimes cultivated as a decorative plant). Extract of Scopolia (which contains a form of the alkaloid scopolamine) is used in at least one commercial stomach remedy ( Inosea, produced by Sato Pharmaceutical). The extract is an anti-spasmodic in low doses and may be used to relax smooth muscle tissue or prevent motion-sickness-induced nausea; in higher doses, it is a poison having hallucinogenic and memory-inhibiting effects. Other alkaloids found in ''Scopolia carniolica'' include cuscohygrine,

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 atroscine. The coumarin

phenylpropanoid The phenylpropanoids are a diverse family of organic compounds that are biosynthesized by plants from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine in the shikimic acid pathway. Their name is derived from the six-carbon, aromatic phenyl group and ...

s umbelliferone and scopoletin have been isolated from the roots of ''Scopolia japonica''.

Comparison of ''Scopolia carniolica'' with ''Atropa belladonna''

Scopolia carniolica pyxidium dehiscence brightened image

The existence of the synonym ''Scopolia atropoides'' (i.e. "Atropa-like Scopolia") for ''Scopolia carniolica'' demonstrates the perceived similarity between ''Scopolia carniolica'' and its better-known relative Deadly Nightshade (''Atropa belladonna''). The most obvious dissimilarity lies in the respective fruits, that of Scopolia being a pyxidium (i.e. a dry, pot-like capsule with an operculum (lid)) while that of Atropa is a juicy, glistening, jet-black berry bearing a superficial resemblance to a cherry - indeed this pyxidium / berry dichotomy constitutes the feature separating the genus Atropa into a subtribe of its own within the Solanaceous 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 ' ...

: all other genera in tribe Hyoscyameae have the same type of dry, pyxidial capsule as Scopolia. Other points of dissimilarity include: *Pedicel type: ''Scopolia carniolica'', long, slender and delicate / ''Atropa belladonna'', shorter and broadening toward the calyx - particularly at fruiting. *Calyx type: ''Scopolia carniolica'', cup-shaped, with slight peaks rather than distinct lobes / ''Atropa belladonna'' distinctly lobed, the individual lobes somewhat leaf-like and these lobes spreading to make the calyx star-shaped in fruit. *Colour of corolla: ''Scopolia carniolica'', exterior: purplish-brown striped longitudinally with cream veins, interior: cream, except for some dark venation at the very base / ''Atropa belladonna'', dull purple shading to green netted with darker veins at the base. *Glabrescence / pubescence: ''Scopolia carniolica'', glabrous (hairless), the corolla often having a glossy, "enameled" appearance / ''Atropa belladonna'' pubescent (hairy), the corolla and calyx being clothed in short trichomes (hairs) - though less so in those of its eastern subspecies ''A. belladonna ssp. caucasica''. *Corolla shape: ''Scopolia carniolica'', simple, un-lobed, straight-sided bell / ''Atropa belladonna'' urceolate (= urn-shaped) bell bearing short but distinct lobes, somewhat recurved. *Pistil: ''Scopolia carniolica'', straight and shorter than corolla / ''Atropa belladonna'', curved and exserted (=protruding beyond corolla).

Gallery

File:Scopolia carniolica Finland 2016-04-30.jpg, ''Scopolia carniolica'' fresh Spring growth with abundant flowers, old

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. File:Scopolia caucasica 129017727.jpg, ''Scopolia caucasica'' in flower, showing distinctive corolla shape - more flared than in other species File:Scopolia japonica-03.jpg, ''Scopolia japonica'' (Common name in Japanese: 走りどころ Hashiri-dokoro), plant in flower,

. File:Eykman1883-Scopoliae Rhizoma.jpg, ''Scopoliae Rhizoma'' (root of ''Scopolia japonica'')

Comparison of ''Scopolia carniolica'' with ''Atropa belladonna''

Gallery

References

Further reading