''Iphigenia'' is a
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the family
Colchicaceae
Colchicaceae is a family of flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; ...
. It was described by Kunth. It consists of 11 species distributed from tropical Africa, over Madagascar and India to Australia. As with other taxa in Colchicaceae ''Iphigenia'' contains phenethylisoquinoline alkaloids including
colchicine
Colchicine is a medication used to prevent and treat gout, to treat familial Mediterranean fever and Behçet's disease, and to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. The American College of Rheumatology recommends colchicine, nonstero ...
.
Species
African species
* ''
Iphigenia oliveri''
Engl.
* ''
Iphigenia pauciflora''
Martelli
Arabian species
* ''
Iphigenia socotrana''
Thulin
Indian species
* ''
Iphigenia devrukhensis''
* ''
Iphigenia indica''
(L.) A.Gray ex Kunth - range extending to China, New Guinea + Australia
* ''
Iphigenia magnifica''
Ansari & R.S.Rao
* ''
Iphigenia mysorensis
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae.
In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of Artemi ...
''
Arekal & S.N.Ramaswamy
* ''
Iphigenia pallida''
Baker
* ''
Iphigenia ratnagirica''
* ''
Iphigenia sahyadrica''
Ansari & R.S.Rao
* ''
Iphigenia stellata''
Blatt.
Madagascar species
* ''
Iphigenia boinensis''
H.Perrier
* ''
Iphigenia robusta''
Baker
New Zealand species
*''
Iphigenia novae-zelandiae''
(Hook.f.) Baker
Taxonomy
The genus name of ''Iphigenia'' is in reference to
Iphigenia
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae.
In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of Artem ...
, the
Greek mythological
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient ...
character, who was a daughter of King
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...
and Queen
Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra (, ; , ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the half-sister of Helen of Sparta. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan p ...
, and such was a princess of
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; ; or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines, Greece, Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos; and sou ...
.
References
Colchicaceae
Colchicaceae genera
Iphigenia
{{Liliales-stub