''Diphylleia grayi'', the skeleton flower, is a
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), ...
of
perennial plant
In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...
in the family
Berberidaceae
The Berberidaceae are a family (biology), family of 18 genera of flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order (biology), order Ranunculales. The family contains about 700 known species, of which the majority ...
. It is native to northern and central
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Description
The plant grows up to . The flowers are white,
pedicellate
In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. The stalk at the base of a leaf is called a petiole.
Description
Pedicel refers to a structure connecti ...
, with six
obovate
The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...
petals and bloom from May to July. After it flowers, it bears dark blue/purple fruit with a
white powdery coating from June to August. Its stems are
terete
Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section (geometry), cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and S ...
and grow long. Its
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...
s are stout and knotty. The plant is known to have petals that become transparent when in contact with water, giving it its common name. Once it is dry, the petals return to white.
Distribution and habitat
The plant is distributed from north to central
Honshu
, historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...
,
Hokkaido
is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
,
Mount Daisen
is a dormant stratovolcano in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. It has an elevation of . This mountain is the highest in the Chūgoku region, and the most important volcano on the Daisen volcanic belt, which is a part of the Southwestern Honshu volca ...
, and
Sakhalin
Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...
. It grows in slightly moist places in the woods of high mountains.
Medical uses
In the 1960s, botanist Yanagi Kimura discovered that ''D. grayi'' crude extracts contain substances similar to, but more powerful than
podophyllin
Podophyllum resin, also known as podophyllum or podophyllin, is a resin made from the roots of the American mandrake. It is used as a medication to treat genital warts and plantar warts, including in people with HIV/AIDS. It is not recommende ...
and
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 ...
. The extract had anti-tumor effects on transplantable animal tumors.
Gallery
File:Diphylleia grayi (200208).jpg, Fruit
File:Diphylleia grayi (young fruits).JPG, Young fruits
File:Diphylleia grayi (flowers).JPG, Flowers
File:Diphylleia grayi (bud).JPG, Bud
See also
*''
Gymnosiphon suaveolens''
References
Berberidaceae
Flora of Japan
Plants described in 1868
{{Berberidaceae-stub