''Daphne'' (, "laurel") is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of between 70 and 95

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

and

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Thymelaeaceae, native to Asia, Europe and north Africa. They are noted for their scented

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s and often brightly coloured

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

. Two species are used to make paper. Many species are grown in gardens as ornamental plants; the smaller species are often used in rock gardens. All parts of daphnes are poisonous, especially the berries.

Description

''Daphne'' species are shrubs, with upright or prostrate stems. Upright species may grow to . Their leaves are undivided, mostly arranged alternately (although opposite in '' D. genkwa''), and have short petioles (stalks). The leaves tend to be clustered towards the end of the stems and are of different shapes, although always longer than wide. The leaf surface may be smooth (glabrous) or hairy. Many species flower in late winter or very early spring. The flowers are grouped into clusters (

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s), either in the leaf axils towards the end of the stems or forming terminal heads. The inflorescences lack

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. Individual flowers completely lack

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s and are formed by four (rarely five)

oid

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, tubular at the base with free lobes at the apex. They range in colour from white, greenish yellow or yellow to bright pink and purple. Most of the evergreen species have greenish flowers, while the

species tend to have pink flowers. There are twice the number of

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s as sepals, usually eight, arranged in two series. Stamens either have short filaments or lack filaments altogether and are usually held inside the sepal tube. The

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

is short or absent, and the stigma is head-shaped (capitate). The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

has a single chamber (

locule A locule (: locules) or loculus (; : loculi) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usually refers to a chamber within an ovary ...

). The fruits are one-seeded, and are either fleshy

or dry and leathery ( drupaceous). When ripe the fruit is usually red or yellow, sometimes black.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Daphne'' was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753 in ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...

''. Linnaeus recognized 10 species, including ''

Daphne mezereum ''Daphne mezereum'', commonly known as mezereum, mezereon, February daphne, spurge laurel or spurge olive, is a species of '' Daphne'' in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to most of Europe and Western Asia, north to northern Scan ...

'', '' Daphne laureola'' and '' Daphne cneorum''. Some of his species are now placed in other related genera (e.g. Linnaeus's ''Daphne thymelaea'' is now '' Thymelaea sanamunda''). The number of species in the genus varies considerably between different authorities. The ''

Flora of China The flora of China consists of a diverse range of plant species including over 39,000 vascular plants, 27,000 species of fungi and 3000 species of bryophytes.Wu, Z. Y., P. H. Raven & D. Y. Hong, eds. 2006. Flora of China. Vol. 22 (Poaceae). Sci ...

'' states there are about 95 species, 41 of which are endemic to China. Some of these species were reduced to subspecies or varieties by Josef Halda in a series of papers from 1997 onwards, culminating in a monograph on the genus. Version 1.1 of

The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant specie ...

accepts 83 species. The ''

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenla ...

'' states there are 70 species.

Phylogeny and generic limits

A 2002 study based on chloroplast DNA placed ''Daphne'' in a group of related genera; however there was only one species representing each genus. A further study published in 2009 included an extra species of '' Wikstroemia'' and suggested that this genus was

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

with respect to '' Stellera'', but otherwise agreed with the

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

above. The distinction between ''Wikstroemia'' and ''Daphne'' is difficult to make; Halda included ''Wikstroemia'' within ''Daphne''. The cladogram shown above suggests that other genera would need to be included as well to make ''Daphne''

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

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 ...

'' accepts the following species: *'' Daphne acutiloba'' Rehder *'' Daphne alpina'' L. *'' Daphne altaica'' Pall. *'' Daphne angustiloba'' Rehder *'' Daphne arbuscula'' Čelak. *'' Daphne arisanensis'' Hayata *'' Daphne aurantiaca'' Diels *'' Daphne axillaris'' (Merr. & Chun) Chun & C.F.Wei *'' Daphne axilliflora'' (Keissl.) Pobed. *'' Daphne baksanica'' Pobed. *''

Daphne bholua ''Daphne bholua'', the Nepalese paper plant, is a species of flowering shrub in the genus ''Daphne'' of the family (biology), family Thymelaeaceae. It grows at altitudes of in the Himalayas and neighbouring mountain ranges, from Nepal to souther ...

'' Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don *'' Daphne blagayana'' Freyer *'' Daphne brevituba'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne caucasica'' Pall. *'' Daphne championii'' Benth. *'' Daphne chingshuishaniana'' S.S.Ying *'' Daphne cneorum'' L. *'' Daphne depauperata'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne domini'' Halda *'' Daphne emeiensis'' C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne erosiloba'' C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne esquirolii'' H.Lév. *'' Daphne feddei'' H.Lév. *'' Daphne gaomushanensis'' Zi L.Chen, P.Wang & Y.F.Lu *'' Daphne gemmata'' E.Pritz. *'' Daphne genkwa'' Siebold & Zucc. *'' Daphne giraldii'' Nitsche *'' Daphne glomerata'' Lam. *'' Daphne gnidioides'' Jaub. & Spach *'' Daphne gnidium'' L. *'' Daphne gracilis'' E.Pritz. *'' Daphne grueningiana'' H.J.P.Winkl. *'' Daphne hekouensis'' H.W.Li & Y.M.Shui *'' Daphne holosericea'' (Diels) Hamaya *'' Daphne jarmilae'' Halda *'' Daphne jasminea'' Sm. *'' Daphne jejudoensis'' M.Kim *'' Daphne jezoensis'' Maxim. *'' Daphne jinyunensis'' C.Yung Chang *'' Daphne jinzhaiensis'' D.C.Zhang & J.Z.Shao *'' Daphne kamtschatica'' Maxim. *'' Daphne kingdon-wardii'' Halda *'' Daphne kiusiana'' Miq. *'' Daphne kosaninii'' (Stoj.) Stoj. *'' Daphne kurdica'' (Bornm.) Bornm. *'' Daphne laciniata'' Lecomte *'' Daphne laureola'' L. *'' Daphne leishanensis'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne limprichtii'' H.J.P.Winkl. *'' Daphne longilobata'' (Lecomte) Turrill *'' Daphne longituba'' C.Yung Chang *'' Daphne ludlowii'' D.G.Long & Rae *'' Daphne luzonica'' C.B.Rob. *'' Daphne macrantha'' Ludlow *'' Daphne malyana'' Blečić *''

'' L. *'' Daphne miyabeana'' Makino *'' Daphne modesta'' Rehder *'' Daphne morrisonensis'' C.E.Chang *'' Daphne mucronata'' Royle *'' Daphne myrtilloides'' Nitsche *'' Daphne nana'' Tagawa *'' Daphne odora'' Thunb. *'' Daphne ogisui'' C.D.Brickell, B.Mathew & Yin Z.Wang *'' Daphne oleoides'' Schreb. *'' Daphne pachyphylla'' D.Fang *'' Daphne papyracea'' Wall. ex G.Don *'' Daphne pedunculata'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne penicillata'' Rehder *'' Daphne petraea'' Leyb. *'' Daphne pontica'' L. *'' Daphne pseudomezereum'' A.Gray *'' Daphne pseudosericea'' Pobed. *'' Daphne purpurascens'' S.C.Huang *'' Daphne retusa'' Hemsl. *'' Daphne rhynchocarpa'' C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne rodriguezii'' Texidor *'' Daphne rosmarinifolia'' Rehder *'' Daphne sericea'' Vahl *'' Daphne sojakii'' Halda *'' Daphne sophia'' Kolenicz. *'' Daphne souliei'' (Lecomte) Aymonin *'' Daphne stapfii'' Bornm. & Keissl. *'' Daphne striata'' Tratt. *'' Daphne sureil'' W.W.Sm. & Cave *'' Daphne tangutica'' Maxim. *'' Daphne taurica'' Kotov *'' Daphne taylorii'' Halda *'' Daphne tenuiflora'' Bureau & Franch. *'' Daphne thanguensis'' J.Ghosh, Midday, S.K.Dey & D.Maity *'' Daphne transcaucasica'' Pobed. *'' Daphne tripartita'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne velenovskyi'' Halda *'' Daphne wangiana'' (Hamaya) Halda *'' Daphne wolongensis'' C.D.Brickell & B.Mathew *'' Daphne xichouensis'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Y.Chang *'' Daphne yunnanensis'' H.F.Zhou ex C.Y.Chang

Hybrids

Hybrids accepted by ''Plants of the World Online'' are: * ''Daphne'' × ''hauseri'' Halda * ''Daphne'' × ''hendersonii'' Hodgkin ex C.D.Brickell & B.Mathew – natural hybrid ''D. petraea'' × ''D. cneorum'' * ''Daphne'' × ''houtteana'' Lindl. & Paxton * ''Daphne'' × ''juraseki'' Halda * ''Daphne'' × ''neapolitana'' (Lindl.) Loudon * ''Daphne'' × ''rossetii'' H.Correvon & Halda * ''Daphne'' × ''savensis'' Daksk., Seliškar & Vreš * ''Daphne'' × ''sillingeri'' Halda * ''Daphne'' × ''thauma'' Farrer – natural hybrid ''D. petraea'' × ''D. striata'' Numerous artificial hybrids are cultivated as ornamental plants. These include: * ''D.'' × ''burkwoodii'' – ''D. cneorum'' × ''D. caucasica'' * ''D.'' × ''napolitana'' Lodd. has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

– origin not known * ''D.'' × ''susannae'' C.D.Brickell – artificial hybrid ''D. arbuscula'' × ''D. sericea'' (syn. ''D. collina''); the correct name may be ''D.'' × ''medfordensis'' Halda * ''D.'' × ''schlyteri'' – artificial hybrid ''D. cneorum'' × ''D. arbuscula''

Distribution

''Daphne'' is a Eurasian genus, being native to central and southern Europe and Asia, from Britain to Japan. Some species are also found in north Africa. Two species, ''D. mezereum'' and ''D. laureola'', have been introduced into North America.

Uses

Two species, ''

'' and '' Daphne papyracea'', both called ''lokta'', are sustainably harvested in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

for paper production. Many species are cultivated as ornamental shrubs in gardens., pp. 36–39 The smaller species are used as rock garden plants or, in the case of those more difficult to grow, as plants for the alpine house. It is recommended that they are grown in well drained but moisture-retentive soil, avoiding strongly acid conditions. Most species prefer a sunny position, although some are woodland plants (e.g. ''D. mezereum'' and '' D. pontica''). Propagation is by seed, cuttings or layering.

Award of garden merit

The following species, hybrids and cultivars are recipients of the

: *''Daphne arbuscula'' *''Daphne bholua'' 'Jacqueline Postill' *''Daphne bholua'' var. ''glacialis'' 'Gurkha' *''Daphne'' × ''burkwoodii'' 'Somerset' *''Daphne cneorum'' 'Eximia' *''Daphne'' × ''rollsdorfii'' 'Wilhelm Schacht' *''Daphne tangutica'' Retusa Group *''Daphne'' × ''transatlantica'' = 'Blafra' PBR

Toxicity

All parts of daphnes are toxic, the berries being particularly so. One active compound is daphnin, a

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

, combining

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

with daphnetin. Some species have been shown to contain a further toxin, mezerein. Symptoms of ingestion include burning sensations and lesions of the mouth and upper digestive tract,

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

, and in severe cases, damage to the kidneys (

nephritis Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. It is one of several different types of nephropathy. Types * Glomerulonephritis is inflammation ...

), irregular heart rhythm, and

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

Allergenicity

Daphnes have an OPALS allergy scale rating of 5 out of 10, indicating moderate potential to cause allergic reactions, exacerbated by over-use of the same plant throughout a garden. The sap and berry juice can cause dermatitis and the scent may affect the odor-sensitive.

Gallery

File:Daphne jezoensis 6.JPG, '' Daphne jezoensis'' File:Daphne pseudomezereum (flower s2).JPG, '' Daphne pseudomezereum'' File:Spurge Laurel (Daphne laureola) - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg, '' Daphne laureola'' File:Daphne blagayana (33946067631).jpg, '' Daphne blagayana'' File:Daphne glomerata Lam.jpg, '' Daphne glomerata'' File:Daphne odora-ja01.jpg, '' Daphne odora'' File:Daphne petraea ENBLA02.JPG, '' Daphne petraea'' File:Daphne mezereum0.jpg, ''

'' – deciduous File:Daphne giraldii 2015-06-20 3137.jpg, '' Daphne giraldii'' – unripe fruits File:Daphne gnidium1.jpg, '' Daphne gnidium'' – ripe fruits File:Daphne jezoensis 4.JPG, '' Daphne jezoensis'' – ripe fruits File:Daphne × transatlantica Eternal Fragrance = 'Blafra'.png, alt=Daphne_transatlantica_EternalFragrance_Blafra, ''Daphne'' × ''transatlantica'' = 'Blafra'

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Flora Europaea: ''Daphne''
{{Authority control Thymelaeaceae genera Medicinal plants