''Psilopeganum'' is a genus 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 (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s of the family ''
Rutaceae
The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rue[RUTACEAE](_blank)
in Bo ...
''.
Characteristics
It is a
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
genus, with only a single species: ''Psilopeganum sinense'' (, not to be confused with ''
Ephedra/ma huang'').
Distribution
It is native to the
Three Gorges
The Three Gorges () are three adjacent and sequential gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River path, in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China. With a subtropical monsoon climate, they are known for their scenery.
The T ...
Reservoir area, in the
Hubei
Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
province of central
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 ...
, where it has become endangered. A specimen exists at the
New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...
.
Medicinal uses
''Psilopeganum sinense'' is one of the
50 fundamental herbs used in
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...
.
See also
*
Chinese herbology
Chinese herbology () is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A ''Nature'' editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that t ...
50 fundamental herbs
References
External links
Photo from New York Botanical Garden collection
Rutoideae
Monotypic Rutaceae genera
Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine
Flora of Hubei
Taxa named by William Hemsley (botanist)
{{Rutaceae-stub