Rubia

''Rubia'' is the type genus of the Rubiaceae family of flowering plants, which also contains ''Coffea'' (coffee). It contains around 80 species of perennial scrambling or climbing herbs and subshrubs native to the Old World.

The genus and its best-known species are commonly known as madder, e.g. ''Rubia tinctorum'' (common madder), '' Rubia peregrina'' (wild madder), and '' Rubia cordifolia'' (Indian madder).

Uses

''Rubia'' was an economically important source of a red pigment in many regions of Asia, Europe and Africa. The genus name ''Rubia'' derives from the Latin ' meaning "red".

The plant's roots contain an anthracene compound called alizarin that gives its red colour to a textile dye known as Rose madder. It was also used as a colourant, especially for paint, that is referred to as Madder lake. The synthesis of alizarin greatly reduced demand for the natural compound.

In Georgia and Armenia, Rubia is used for dying Easter eggs red.

History

Several species, such as ''Rubia tinctorum'' in Europe, '' Rubia cordifolia'' in India, and '' Rubia argyi'' in East Asia, were extensively cultivated from antiquity until the mid nineteenth century for red dye, commonly called ''madder''. Cloth dyed with it has been found on Egyptian mummies. It was the ''ereuthedanon'' () used for dyeing the cloaks of the Libyan women in the days of Herodotus. It is the ''erythrodanon'' () of Pedanius Dioscorides, who wrote of its cultivation in Caria, and of Hippocrates, and the ''Rubia'' of Pliny. ''R. tinctorum'' was extensively cultivated in south Europe, France, where it is called ''garance'', and the Netherlands, and to a small extent in the United States. Large quantities were imported into England from Smyrna, Trieste, Livorno, etc. The cultivation, however, decreased after alizarin was made artificially.

Madder was employed medicinally in ancient civilizations and in the Middle Ages. In his ''Natural History'', Pliny described it as a diuretic and is capable of treating jaundice and lichen planus. John Gerard, in 1597, wrote of it as having been cultivated in many gardens in his day, and describes its many supposed virtues, but any pharmacological or therapeutic action which madder may possess is unrecognizable. Its most remarkable physiological effect was found to be that of colouring red the bones of animals fed upon it, as also the claws and beaks of birds. This appears to be due to the chemical affinity of calcium phosphate for the colouring matter.Pereira, ''Mat. Med.'', vol. ii. pt. 2, p. 52 This property was used to enable physiologists to ascertain the manner in which bones develop, and the functions of the various types of cell found in growing bone.

Species

* '' Rubia agostinhoi'' Dans. & P.Silva
* '' Rubia aitchisonii'' Deb & Malick
* '' Rubia alaica'' Pachom.
* '' Rubia alata'' Wall.
* '' Rubia albicaulis'' Boiss.
* '' Rubia angustisissima'' Wall. ex G.Don
* '' Rubia argyi'' (H.Lév. & Vaniot) Hara ex Lauener
* '' Rubia atropurpurea'' Decne.
* '' Rubia balearica'' (Willk.) Porta
* '' Rubia caramanica'' Bornm.
* '' Rubia charifolia'' Wall. ex G.Don
* '' Rubia chinensis'' Regel & Maack
* '' Rubia chitralensis'' Ehrend.
* '' Rubia clematidifolia'' Blume ex Decne.
* '' Rubia cordifolia'' L.
* '' Rubia crassipes'' Collett & Hemsl.
* '' Rubia cretacea'' Pojark.
* '' Rubia danaensis'' Danin
* '' Rubia davisiana'' Ehrend.
* '' Rubia deserticola'' Pojark.
* '' Rubia discolor'' Turcz.
* '' Rubia dolichophylla'' Schrenk
* '' Rubia edgeworthii'' Hook.f.
* '' Rubia falciformis'' H.S.Lo
* '' Rubia filiformis'' F.C.How ex H.S.Lo
* '' Rubia florida'' Boiss.
* '' Rubia fruticosa'' Aiton
* '' Rubia garrettii'' Craib
* '' Rubia gedrosiaca'' Bornm.
* '' Rubia haematantha'' Ary Shaw
* '' Rubia hexaphylla'' (Makino) Makino
* '' Rubia himalayensis'' Klotzsch
* '' Rubia hispidicaulis'' D.G.Long
* '' Rubia horrida'' (Thunb.) Puff
* '' Rubia infundibularis'' Hemsl. & Lace
* '' Rubia jesoensis'' (Miq.) Miyabe & Kudo
* '' Rubia komarovii'' Pojark.
* '' Rubia krascheninnikovii'' Pojark.
* '' Rubia laevissima'' Tschern.
* '' Rubia latipetala'' H.S.Lo
* '' Rubia laurae'' (Holmboe) Airy Shaw
* '' Rubia laxiflora'' Gontsch.
* '' Rubia linii'' J.M.Chao
* '' Rubia magna'' P.G.Xiao
* '' Rubia mandersii'' Collett & Hemsl.
* '' Rubia manjith'' Roxb. ex Fleming
* '' Rubia maymanensis'' Ehrend. & Schönb.-Tem.
* '' Rubia membranacea'' Diels
* '' Rubia oncotricha'' Hand.-Mazz.
* '' Rubia oppositifolia'' Griff.
* '' Rubia ovatifolia'' Z.Ying Zhang ex Q.Lin
* '' Rubia pallida'' Diels
* '' Rubia pauciflora'' Boiss.
* '' Rubia pavlovii'' Bajtenov & Myrz.
* '' Rubia peregrina'' L.
* '' Rubia petiolaris'' DC.
* '' Rubia philippinensis'' Elmer
* '' Rubia podantha'' Diels
* '' Rubia polyphlebia'' H.S.Lo
* '' Rubia pterygocaulis'' H.S.Lo
* '' Rubia rechingeri'' Ehrend.
* '' Rubia regelii'' Pojark.
* '' Rubia rezniczenkoana'' Litv.
* '' Rubia rigidifolia'' Pojark.
* '' Rubia rotundifolia'' Banks & Sol.
* '' Rubia salicifolia'' H.S.Lo
* '' Rubia schugnanica'' B.Fedtsch. ex Pojark.
* '' Rubia schumanniana'' E.Pritz.
* '' Rubia siamensis'' Craib
* '' Rubia sikkimensis'' Kurz
* '' Rubia sylvatica'' (Maxim.) Nakai
* '' Rubia tatarica'' (Trevir.) F.Schmidt
* '' Rubia tenuifolia'' d'Urv.
* '' Rubia tenuissima'' ined.
* '' Rubia thunbergii'' DC.
* '' Rubia tibetica'' Hook.f.
* ''Rubia tinctorum'' L.
* '' Rubia transcaucasica'' Grossh.
* '' Rubia trichocarpa'' H.S.Lo
* '' Rubia truppeliana'' Loes.
* '' Rubia wallichiana'' Decne.
* '' Rubia yunnanensis'' Diels

References

Further reading

*

External links

''Rubia'' in the World Checklist of Rubiaceae

{{Authority control

Medicinal plants
Non-timber forest products
Plant dyes
Rubiaceae genera
Rugs and carpets