''Arctopus'' is a genus 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

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

, with three species. The genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. The genus name means "bears foot" (from "bear" and ''pous'' "foot") in reference to the curious growth habit, resembling a large footprint, if not to the fact that the leaves are fringed with formidable prickles that punish bare feet and grazing. The species were used in

Khoisan Khoisan ( ) or () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for the various Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen and the San people, Sān peo ...

medicine and adopted by the early settlers who gave them the Afrikaans name of ''sieketroos'' (= "sickness-comfort" i.e. "sickness remedy") The species are atypical of the Apiaceae in that the leaves grow flat on the ground, and that the plants are

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, with the male and female flowers borne on separate plants.

Gallery

File:Black bear (Ursus americanus) track at the Hidden Lakes of the Pasayten Wilderness..jpg, Paw print of a bear, showing similarity to curious outline of ''Arctopus'' foliage - whence genus name

References

Apioideae Dioecious plants Apioideae genera {{Apiaceae-stub