Murraya Alata

''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.''Murraya''.
Flora of China. The center of diversity is in southern China and Southeast Asia.But, P. P., et al. (1986)
A chemotaxonomic study of ''Murraya'' (Rutaceae) in China.
''Acta Phytotax. Sin'' 24(3), 186-92. When broadly circumscribed, the genus has about 17 species. A narrower circumscription contains only eight species, others being placed in ''Bergera'' and ''Merrillia''.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Murraya'' are shrubs or trees with pinnate leaves arranged alternately, usually glandular, aromatic, and leathery to membranous in texture. The leaflets vary in shape and have smooth or toothed edges.''Murraya''.
FloraBase. Western Australian Herbarium. The inflorescence is a panicle, cyme, or small raceme of flowers growing at the ends of branches or in the leaf axils; some flowers are solitary. The fragrant flowers have 4 or 5 sepals and white petals and up to 10 straight stamens. The fruit is a fleshy berry with pulp but without the juice vesicles present in some related fruits. It is up to long and orange, red, or black.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Murraya'' was first formally described in 1771 by Carl Linnaeus in ''Mantissa Plantarum Altera'' from an unpublished description by Johann Gerhard König. The genus name commemorates the 18th-century German-Swedish herbal doctor Johan Andreas Murray, a student of Linnaeus.Missouri Botanical Garden
/ref> In 1986, Paul P.-H. But and co-authors separated off some species of ''Murraya'' as ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' based on chemical evidence. Evidence from pollen morphology and multiple molecular phylogenetic studies showed that when broadly circumscribed, ''Murraya'' was not monophyletic, and treating ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' as the separate genus ''Bergera'' has widespread support.

''Murraya'' is in the subfamily Aurantioideae, which also includes the genus ''Citrus''. It is in the tribe Clauseneae.

Species list

Studies have repeatedly shown that two sections into which ''Murraya'' has been divided, ''M.'' sect. ''Murraya'' and ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'', should be treated as separate genera. ''Murraya'' sensu stricto was revised in 2021, with eight species being accepted:
* '' Murraya alata'' Drake – China Southeast, Hainan, Vietnam
* '' Murraya elongata'' A.DC. ex Hook.f. – Myanmar
* '' Murraya glenieii'' Thwaites ex Oliv. – Sri Lanka
* '' Murraya lucida'' (G.Forst.) Mabb. – Vanuatu
* '' Murraya omphalocarpa'' Hayata
* ''Murraya paniculata'' ( L.) Jack – Tropical Asia to Vanuatu and Australia
* '' Murraya sumatrana'' Roxb.
* '' Murraya zollingeri'' (Tanaka) F.J.Mou
Species that have been placed in ''Murraya'' sect. ''Bergera'' belong in ''Bergera'', although , names for many have not been published. Further species still accepted in ''Murraya'' by Plants of the World Online are:
* '' Murraya caloxylon'' Ridl. – Malayasia, Thailand; synonym of '' Merrillia caloxylon''
* '' Murraya crenulata'' ( Turcz.) Oliv. – Taiwan (Lan Yü) to Malesia and SW. Pacific; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
* '' Murraya cyclopensis'' Astuti & Rugayah – W. New Guinea
* '' Murraya euchrestifolia'' Hayata – China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
* '' Murraya exotica'' L. – China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan
* '' Murraya glabra'' ( Guillaumin) Swingle – Vietnam
* '' Murraya heptaphylla'' Span. – Lesser Sunda Islands (Timor)
* ''Murraya koenigii'' ( L.) Spreng. – Indian Subcontinent to China (S. Yunnan, Guangdong) and Indo-China, S. Hainan; synonym of '' Bergera koenigii''
* '' Murraya kwangsiensis'' ( C.C.Huang) C.C.Huang – China (SE. Yunnan, W. & SW. Guangxi); placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
* '' Murraya macrophylla'' (C.C.Huang) F.J.Mou & D.X.Zhang – China
* '' Murraya microphylla'' ( Merr. & Chun) Swingle – China (Guangdong), Hainan; placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''
* '' Murraya tetramera'' C.C.Huang – China (SE. Yunnan, W. Guangxi); placed in ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''

Uses

''Murraya'' species are used in landscaping. Some species can be grafted onto citrus rootstocks. Species have been used in traditional medicine, with various parts of the plants used to treat fever, pain, and dysentery. ''M. paniculata'' has been used to induce labor. It has been used in Cuba for painful inflammatory conditions.Casado Martín, C. M., et al. (2011)
Acercamiento al género ''Murraya'' (Rutaceae) ya la especie ''Murraya paniculata'' (L.) Jack.
''Revista Cubana de Plantas Medicinales'' 16(4), 408-18. (Spanish)

In Myanmar, ''Murraya'' species are used to make thanaka, a cosmetic paste that is typically applied onto the face.

Chemistry

Compounds isolated from ''Murraya'' include many types of coumarins and alkaloids. The novel alkaloid yuehchukene was found in ''M. paniculata'', and it has since been isolated from other ''Murraya''. It is found in red-fruited species with larger petals, but not in black-fruited species with smaller petals. Some species also contain the carbazole girinimbine.

Spelling competition

In July 2021, 14-year old Zaila Avant-garde of Harvey, Louisiana, won the final of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word "Murraya", and was the first African American to win the 96-year-old event.

References

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Aurantioideae genera