''Glehnia'' 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 plants in the carrot family,

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

. It is

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 ...

, being represented by the single species, ''Glehnia littoralis'', commonly known as beach silvertop and American silvertop. The genus was named after Russian botanist

Peter von Glehn Peter von Glehn (; in Jelgimeggi Manor – in Saint Petersburg) was a Baltic German botanist. Peter von Glehn was born in the Jelgimeggi manor () in 1835, to a Baltic German landowner, member of the Glehn family, Peter von Glehn (1796–1843 ...

Description

It is a long-

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

ed plant forming a basal patch of

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

, with each leaf made up of several rounded,

lobular In anatomy, a lobe is a clear anatomical division or extension of an organ (as seen for example in the brain, lung, liver, or kidney) that can be determined without the use of a microscope at the gross anatomy level. This is in contrast to the muc ...

segments. It reaches a maximum height exceeding , with the North American

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

only reported to reach . The plant's erect stem is topped with an

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

of carrotlike white flowers.

Chemistry

The plant contains naphthisoxazole A.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies exist, one in Asia and one in North America; the latter is named ''leiocarpa''.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to eastern Asia, particularly eastern China, Japan, and far-eastern Russia, and western North America from

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

to northern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It can be found on sandy beaches and dunes.

Uses

The plant is perhaps best known as a Chinese herbal remedy for

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages which can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and Microorganism, microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex fol ...

.Tang, Weici and Eisenbrand, Gerhard Handbook of Chinese Medicinal Plants : Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology, pub. Wiley-VCH 2011 Vol.1 pps. 599-600 ''Glehnia littoralis''.

References

External links

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USDA Plants ProfileFlora of ChinaPhoto gallery
Apioideae Monotypic Apioideae genera Flora of Alaska Flora of California Flora of China Flora of Japan Flora of the Russian Far East Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of Western Canada Medicinal plants of Asia Medicinal plants of North America Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine {{medicinal-plant-stub