''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family

Hypoxidaceae Hypoxidaceae is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the 1998, 2003, and 2009 versions) recognizes this family. The family consists of five genera, with some 16 ...

, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of

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Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
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Curculin Curculin or neoculin is a sweet protein complex that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of '' Curculigo latifolia'' ( Hypoxidaceae). Like miraculin, curculin exhibits taste-modifying activity; however, unlike miraculin, it also ...

is a sweet

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of ''Curculigo latifolia'', a plant from

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. Like

miraculin Miraculin is a taste modifier, a glycoprotein extracted from the fruit of '' Synsepalum dulcificum''. The berry, also known as the miracle fruit, was documented by explorer Chevalier des Marchais, who searched for many different fruits during ...

, curculin exhibits taste-modifying activity; however, unlike miraculin, it also exhibits a sweet taste by itself. After consumption of curculin, water and sour solutions taste sweet. The plant is referred to locally as or ; English: 'weevil-wort'.

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

includes: # ''

Curculigo annamitica ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' Gagnep. – Vietnam # '' Curculigo breviscapa'' S.C.Chen – China (Guangxi, Guangdong) # '' Curculigo capitulata'' # ''

Curculigo conoc ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' Gagnep. – Vietnam # ''

Curculigo crassifolia ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' # '' Curculigo disticha'' Gagnep. – Vietnam # '' Curculigo ensifolia'' R.Br. – Australia # '' Curculigo erecta'' Lauterb. – Philippines, Sumatra, New Guinea, Solomon Islands # '' Curculigo fabrei'' # '' Curculigo fakimensis'' # '' Curculigo gracilis'' # '' Curculigo janarthanamii'' R.D. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad – India # ''

Curculigo latifolia ''Curculigo latifolia'', also known as tambaka, lamba and lemba babi, is a species of flowering plant, a stemless perennial herb in the Hypoxidaceae family, that is native to Southeast Asia and produces edible fruits. Description The plant gr ...

'' # ''

Curculigo maharashtrensis ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra # ''

Curculigo maheensis ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' # ''

Curculigo oligantha ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' # ''

Curculigo orchioides ''Curculigo orchioides'' (commonly called golden eye-grass, xian mao, weevil-wort, कालो मुस्ली (in Nepal) black musli, Kali musli, or Kali Musali) is a flowering plant species in the genus ''Curculigo''. It is native to Nepal, ...

'' Gaertn. – China, Japan, Indian Subcontinent, Papuasia, Micronesia # ''

Curculigo pilosa ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' (Schumach. & Thonn.) Engl. – tropical Africa, Madagascar # ''

Curculigo prainiana ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' # ''

Curculigo racemosa ''Curculigo'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in ...

'' Ridl. – Borneo # '' Curculigo rhizophylla'' # '' Curculigo sabui'' S.P. Gaikwad & Gore – IndiaS.P.Gaikwad & Gore (2019) ''Nordic J. Bot.'' 37(7)-e02340: 2. # '' Curculigo savantwadiensis'' M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra # '' Curculigo scorzonerifolia'' (Lam.) Baker – southern Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America # '' Curculigo seychellensis'' Bojer ex Baker – Seychelles # '' Curculigo sinensis'' S.C.Chen – China (Yunnan) # '' Curculigo tonkinensis'' Gagnep. – Vietnam # '' Curculigo trichocarpa''

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2707264 Asparagales genera Pantropical flora Taxa named by Joseph Gaertner