Duranta Erecta
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''Duranta erecta'' is a species of
flowering 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 ...
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 ...
in the
verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas ...
family
Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. T ...
, native from Mexico to South America and the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. It is widely cultivated as an
ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
in
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
and
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
gardens throughout the world, and has become
naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
in many places. Common names include golden dewdrop, pigeon berry, and skyflower.


Description

''Duranta erecta'' is a sprawling
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 ...
or (infrequently) a small
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 ...
. It can grow to tall and can spread to an equal width. Mature specimens possess axillary thorns, which are often absent on younger specimens. The
leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are light green, elliptic to ovate, opposite, and grow up to long and broad, with a 1.5 cm petiole. The
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 are light-blue or lavender, produced in tight
clusters may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...
located on terminal and axillary stems, sometimes appearing as
panicles In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...
, frequently recurved or pendulous, blooming in summer. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
is a small globose yellow or orange
berry 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 or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...
, up to diameter and containing several
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
s.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' 2: 117. Macmillan .


Taxonomy

The genus name is in honor of
Castore Durante Castore Durante, also called Castor Durante da Gualdo (Gualdo Tadino, 1529 – Viterbo, 1590) was a physician, botanist and poet of the Italian Renaissance. His father was the jurist Giovan Diletto Durante. He had five siblings, including a broth ...
, a fifteenth-century Italian botanist. The
specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
''erecta'' means "upright" in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
. The plant is also known as ''D. repens'', from the Latin for "creeping". The latter name was originally used to identify smaller-leaved
varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of the species.


Ecology

''Duranta erecta'' is native to the Americas, from Mexico and the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
south to Brazil and Argentina. There is some debate about whether the plant is also native to the southern United States, in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
,
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
and
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, or is an
introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
there, at an altitude of 40–1100 meters above sea level. In its natural state, it commonly grows in rocky or
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
y
coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
al areas with full sun, or moister, disturbed sites inland. Prior to maturity, the plant will grow at a rate of up to half a meter per year.


Cultivation

Golden dewdrop is widely grown as an
ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
throughout
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
and warm
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
regions. Its showy
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
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
make it a desirable addition to gardens, and the blossoms attract
butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
and
hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...
s. There are a wide variety of
cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s available, including 'Alba', 'Aurea', 'Aussie Gold', 'Gold Mound', 'Geisha Girl', 'Sapphire Showers', and 'Variegata'.


Invasive potential

The plant has been identified as an
invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
in Australia, South Asia, China, South Africa,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
,
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
and
French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...
. It has been introduced to other habitats but has not become invasive.


Properties

The leaves and unripened berries of the plant are
toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
, and are confirmed to have killed dogs and cats. However,
songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...
s eat the fruit without ill effects. Documented cases of toxicity in humans are sparse, with many secondary sources stating that children have died from consumption of the plant. This is likely attributable to an 1895 case of presumed poisoning by Duranta erecta (formerly Duranta plumieri) in a four year-old boy in Australia. From the original text:
" out 3:30 p.m. he said he felt very tired and sleepy. ..His face was very flushed and the pupils dilated, while his lips and eyelids appeared swollen. ..At 7 p.m. the boy had passed a large motion icinto the bed. This was sticky, ashy-grey in colour. ..The tongue was coated with a dirty-grey fur, and the breath had the same offensive smell as the motions. The lips were slightly swollen and cracked, but not discoloured, and the tonsils and back of the pharynx were very red, but not swollen. e conjunctivae were injected. ..The pupils were dilated, very little iris being visible, and they were insensitive to light. ..The temperature was 105.4 °F. hepulse was 200. About 5 a.m. he began to convulse, the spasms being tonic in character, with slight opisthotonos and marked retraction of the head. During the spasms the eyes were widely opened and the pupils less dilated, while the acial musclesdid not participate in the general spasm, and the jaws were not tightly clenched. At 7 a.m. the temperature had fallen to 101 °F and the pulse to 160. e vomitedinky-looking liquid material, the fluid part of which was colourless, and the solid portion like coffee grounds. The convulsive attacks now became more frequent and prolonged, ndhe died at 10:45 a.m. small portion of ecespassed about a quarter of an hour before death was scraped from the bed clothes and washed, when a number of partly digested berries of the ''Duranta plumieri'' was found in it. ..I am not aware that the toxicology of ''Duranta'' has ever been investigated, but the symptoms described above, taken with the presence of berries in the motions, appear to bear the relation of effect and cause. If this is so, it would appear to be a poison of a cerebrospinal type .. It is of course dangerous to theorize too much on such a slender basis as a single case, and that but incompletely observed, but I think that the combination of circumstances described in the above report is a very strong piece of ''prima facie'' evidence for the conclusions arrived at."
Antioxidative coumarinolignoids called repenins have been isolated from ''Duranta erecta''. In the fruit, 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 ...
isoquinoline Isoquinoline is an individual chemical specimen - a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound - as well as the name of a family of many thousands of natural plant alkaloids, any one of which might be referred to as "an isoquinoline". It is a struc ...
in addition to the
monoterpenes Monoterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of two isoprene units and have the molecular formula C10H16. Monoterpenes may be linear (acyclic) or contain rings (monocyclic and bicyclic). Modified terpenes, such as those containing oxygen funct ...
durantoside I, durantoside, and repenoside have been identified. The leaves and fruits of ''D. repens'' contain a
saponin Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...
glycoside and the presence of
hydrocyanic acid Hydrogen cyanide (formerly known as prussic acid) is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structural formula . It is a highly toxic and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on an industrial s ...
. The durantoside has been detected in leaves and stems with leaves. The isoquinoline is lethal to insects.


Gallery

File:Duranta erecta (38) 1200.jpg, Duranta erecta File:Close Up - Flowers Golden Duranta Bush.jpg, Duranta Flowers File:Golden Duranta Bush with flowers.jpg, Duranta Bush File:Duranta erecta Sapphire Blue 1zz.jpg, 'Saphhire Blue' cultivar File:Colius White-backed mousebird feeding on Duranta berries 9859.jpg,
Mousebird The mousebirds are birds in the order Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Cavitaves, which includes the Leptosomiformes (the cuckoo roller), Trogoniformes ( trogons), Bucerotiformes ( hornbills and hoopoes), Piciformes ( wo ...
feeding on fruit File:Duranta erecta 001.jpg, A large shrub File:Duranta erecta (1) 1200.jpg, Flower closeup File:Starr 070221-4825 Duranta erecta.jpg, Small hedge File:Starr-090421-6238-Duranta erecta-flowering and fruiting habit-Pukalani-Maui (24656859320).jpg, Grown as a small tree File:Duranta erecta sapphire showes-3-the regent hill-yercaud-salem-India.JPG, A sprawling shrub in India


References


External links


Durable, Dependable: Durantas!
(San Diego Horticultural Society, via the Internet Archive) * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2732360 Verbenaceae Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Central America Flora of Mexico Flora of Southern America Garden plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Nepal Flora without expected TNC conservation status