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

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 ...

s growing to tall, native to 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 ...

and Tibet. The genus is usually included in the

tupelo Tupelo commonly refers to: * Tupelo (tree), a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves * Tupelo, Mississippi, the county seat and the largest city of Lee County, Mississippi Tupelo may also refer to: Places * Tupelo, Arka ...

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 or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...

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, ...

. 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), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

:喜树). There are two species: *''Camptotheca acuminata''

Decne Joseph Decaisne (7 March 1807 – 8 January 1882) was a French botanist and agronomist. He became an ''aide-naturaliste'' to Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (1797–1853), who served as the chair of rural botany. It was during this time that he began to s ...

. *'' Camptotheca lowreyana'' S.Y.Li The bark and stems of ''C. acuminata'' contain the

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

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'' (� ...

. 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 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 ...

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 ...

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

trifolin Trifolin is a chemical compound. It is the kaempferol 3-galactoside. It can be found in ''Camptotheca acuminata'', in '' Euphorbia condylocarpa'' or in '' Consolida oliveriana''. Kaempferol 3-O-galactosyltransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the ...

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 acetosella ...

References

{{Authority control Nyssaceae Trees of China Cornales genera Taxa named by Joseph Decaisne