''Boophone'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family (

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus '' Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryl ...

, subfamily

Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidoideae (Amaryllidaceae ''s.s.'', amaryllids) is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. The most recent APG classification, APG III, takes a broad view of the Amaryllidaceae, which then ...

.) It consists of two confirmed

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

distributed across South Africa to Kenya and Uganda. It is closely related to '' Crossyne'', a genus whose species have prostrate leaves. They are drought tolerant but not cold-hardy, and are very poisonous to livestock.

Taxonomy

''Boophone'' is the single genus in

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The early use of this word is from 19th century. An example of subtribe i ...

Boophoninae, in the

Amaryllideae Amaryllideae are a tribe of subfamily Amaryllidoideae (family Amaryllidaceae). They are herbaceous monocot perennial flowering plants with a predominantly Southern African distribution, with the exception of the pantropical genus ''Crinum''. They ...

tribe.

Phylogeny

Boophoninae are placed within Amaryllideae as follows, based on their phylogenetic relationship:

Species

The list of ''Boophone'' species, with their complete scientific name, authority, and geographic distribution is given below.Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
World Checklist of Monocotyledons: ''Boophone ''
Accessed May 16, 2009.

Etymology

William Herbert wrote the name of this genus with three different orthographies: "Boophane" in 1821; "Buphane" and "Buphone" in 1825. This final spelling was corrected to "Boophone" in 1839 by Milne-Redhead. The name was derived from the Greek ''bous'' (an ox) and ''phone'' (death), due to its toxic nature to cattle. A proposal was published in 2001 to conserve the name "Boophone" and to take the earlier ones as synonyms. This proposal was accepted in 2002.

Associated insects

Larvae of the moth genera '' Brithys'' and ''

Diaphone The diaphone is a noisemaking device best known for its use as a foghorn: It can produce deep, powerful tones, able to carry a long distance. Although they have fallen out of favor, diaphones were also used at some fire stations and in other situ ...

'' use ''Boophone'' as a food plant.

Traditional medicine

''Boophone disticha'' is used in South African

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before th ...

by the

Zulu people Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni people, Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest Ethnic groups in South Africa, ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, li ...

to induce hallucinations for divinatory purposes, and also for various mental illnesses. Its use, however, is limited by injuries that result from the plant's toxicity. They have also been used as ingredients in traditional arrow poisons, and medicinal dressings for skin lesions.

Chemistry

A variety of

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Th ...

s with affinity for the

serotonin transporter The serotonin transporter (SERT or 5-HTT) also known as the sodium-dependent serotonin transporter and solute carrier family 6 member 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC6A4 gene. SERT is a type of monoamine transporter protein th ...

have been isolated from ''Boophone disticha''.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q144319 Amaryllidoideae Amaryllidaceae genera Entheogens Plants used in traditional African medicine Zulu culture