''Murraya'' () 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 flowering plants in the

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

family,

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.''Murraya''.
Flora of China. The

center of diversity A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posite ...

is in southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

.But, P. P., et al. (1986)
A chemotaxonomic study of ''Murraya'' (Rutaceae) in China.
''Acta Phytotax. Sin'' 24(3), 186-92. When broadly

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

, the genus has about 17 species. A narrower circumscription contains only eight species, others being placed in ''

Bergera ''Bergera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. It has been included in ''Murraya'' as ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera''. Species that may be placed in the genus are native from India through southeast Asia eastwards to China and Taiwa ...

'' and ''

Merrillia ''Merrillia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae, containing the single species ''Merrillia caloxylon''. Its English language common names include flowering merrillia, katinga, and Malay lemon. In Malaysia it ...

''.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Murraya'' are shrubs or trees with

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

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 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 ...

is a

panicle 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 ...

, cyme, or small

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

of flowers growing at the ends of branches or in the leaf axils; some flowers are solitary. The fragrant flowers have 4 or 5

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 and white

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 up to 10 straight

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. The fruit is a fleshy

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 ...

with pulp but without the

juice vesicles The juice vesicles, also known as citrus kernels (in aggregate, citrus pulp), of a citrus fruit are the membranous content of the fruit's endocarp. The vesicles contain the juice of the fruit and appear shiny and saclike. Vesicles come in two sha ...

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 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 ''

Mantissa Plantarum Altera ''Mantissa Plantarum Altera'' (abbreviated Mant. Pl. Alt.) is an illustrated book with botanical descriptions which was edited by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after enn ...

'' from an unpublished description by

Johann Gerhard König Johann Gerhard König (29 November 1728 – 26 June 1785) was a Baltic Germans, Baltic German botanist and physician who served in the Tranquebar Mission, India before joining service under the Nawab of Arcot, and then the English East India Compan ...

. The genus name commemorates the 18th-century German-Swedish herbal doctor

Johan Andreas Murray Johan Andreas (Anders) Murray (27 January 1740 – 22 May 1791) was a Swedish physician of German descent and botanist, who published a major work on plant-derived medicines. Biography Johan Anders Murray was born in Stockholm on 27 January 1740 ...

, a student of

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 ...

.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 Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

morphology and multiple

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies showed that when broadly

, ''Murraya'' was not

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 ...

, and treating ''M.'' sect. ''Bergera'' as the separate genus ''

'' has widespread support. ''Murraya'' is in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Aurantioideae Aurantioideae (sometimes known as Citroideae) is the subfamily within the rue and citrus family (biology), family (Rutaceae) that contains the citrus. The subfamily's center of diversity is in the monsoon region of eastern Australasia, extending ...

, which also includes the genus ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

''. 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 ''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

– China Southeast, Hainan, Vietnam * '' Murraya elongata'' A.DC. ex

Hook.f. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...

– Myanmar * ''

Murraya glenieii ''Murraya'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.Thwaites ex Oliv. – Sri Lanka * '' Murraya lucida'' (

G.Forst. Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geographer, naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Joha ...

) Mabb. – Vanuatu * '' Murraya omphalocarpa'' Hayata * ''

Murraya paniculata ''Murraya paniculata'', commonly known as orange jasmine, orange jessamine, china box, cosmetic barktree, or mock orange, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rutaceae and is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia. It h ...

'' ( L.)

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

– 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 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 ...

are: * '' Murraya caloxylon''

Ridl. Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG (1911), MA (Oxon), FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. (10 December 1855 – 24 October 1956) was an English botanist, geologist and naturalist who lived much of his life in Singapore. He was instrumental in promoting rubber trees i ...

– 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 Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *André Guillaumin (1885–1974), French botanist *Armand Guillaumin Armand Guillaumin (; February 16, 1841 – June 26, 1927) was a French Impressionist painter and l ...

) Swingle – Vietnam * '' Murraya heptaphylla''

Span. Johan Baptist Spanoghe (1798, Madras – 22 April 1838, Pekalongan, Java) was a Dutch botanical collector of Belgian parentage. A native of Madras, then part of British India, he became a civil servant with the Dutch East Indies government in 181 ...

– Lesser Sunda Islands (Timor) * ''

Murraya koenigii ''Bergera koenigii'', commonly known as curry tree, curry bush or sweet neem, is a tree in the citrus family Rutaceae, first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1767. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, southern China and mainland Southeast Asi ...

'' ( 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. Elmer Drew Merrill (October 15, 1876 – February 25, 1956) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He spent more than twenty years in the Philippines where he became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Through ...

& 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 Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

. Some species can be

grafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

onto

citrus rootstock Citrus rootstock are plants used as rootstock for citrus plants. A rootstock plant must be compatible for scion grafting, and resistant to common threats, such as drought, frost, and common citrus diseases. Principal rootstocks Five types of roo ...

s. Species have been used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

, with various parts of the plants used to treat

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

, pain, and

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

. ''M. paniculata'' has been used to induce labor. It has been used in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

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 Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, ''Murraya'' species are used to make

thanaka Thanaka (; ) is a paste made from ground bark. It is a distinctive feature of the culture of Myanmar, seen commonly applied to the face and sometimes the arms of women and girls, and is used to a lesser extent also by men and boys. History Thana ...

, a cosmetic paste that is typically applied onto the face.

Chemistry

Compounds isolated from ''Murraya'' include many types of

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

s and

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 ...

s. The novel alkaloid

yuehchukene Yuehchukene is a dimeric indole alkaloid that shows anti-fertility and estrogenic activities. Yuehchukene is isolated from the roots of plants belonging to the genus ''Murraya''. Its natural abundance is in the range of 10-52 ppm. Yuehchuken ...

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 Carbazole is an aromatic Heterocyclic compound, heterocyclic organic compound. It has a tricyclic structure, consisting of two six-membered benzene rings fused on either side of a five-membered nitrogen-containing ring. The compound's structure is ...

girinimbine.

Spelling competition

In July 2021, 14-year old Zaila Avant-garde of

Harvey, Louisiana Harvey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Harvey is on the south side (referred to as the "West Bank") of the Mississippi River, within the New Orleans– Metairie– Kenner metropolitan sta ...

, won the final of the 2021

Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. ...

by correctly spelling the word "Murraya", and was the first African American to win the 96-year-old event.

References

{{Authority control Aurantioideae genera