''Tabernaemontana'' 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 in the family

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (, from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Notable mem ...

. It has a pan-tropical distribution, found in Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. These plants are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrubs and small trees growing to 1–15 m tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, 3–25 cm long, with milky sap; hence it is one of the diverse plant genera commonly called "milkwood". The flowers are fragrant, white, 1–5 cm in diameter. The cultivar '' T. divaricata'' cv. 'Plena', with doubled-petaled flowers, is a popular houseplant. Some members of the genus ''Tabernaemontana'' are used as additives to some versions of the psychedelic drink

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

; the genus is known to contain

ibogaine Ibogaine is a psychoactive indole alkaloid derived from plants such as '' Tabernanthe iboga'', characterized by hallucinogenic and oneirogenic effects. Traditionally used by Central African foragers, it has undergone controversial research ...

(e.g. in

bëcchëte ''Tabernaemontana undulata'', the becchete or bëcchëte (pronounced b'-chéw-teh, a Matis and Matsés word for a medicinal plant) is a plant species in the family Apocynaceae. It occurs in the Amazon rainforest. Effects Preparation of the medi ...

, ''T. undulata''),

conolidine Conolidine is an indole alkaloid. Preliminary reports suggest that it could provide analgesic effects with few of the detrimental side-effects associated with opioids such as morphine, though at present it has only been evaluated in mouse mod ...

(present in minor concentration in ''T. divaricata'') and voacangine ('' T. alba'', '' T. arborea'', '' T. africana''). Because of presence of

coronaridine Coronaridine, also known as 18-carbomethoxyibogamine, is an alkaloid found in '' Tabernanthe iboga'' and related species, including '' Tabernaemontana divaricata'' for which (under the now obsolete synonym ''Ervatamia coronaria'') it was named. ...

and

voacangine Voacangine (12-methoxyibogamine-18-carboxylic acid methyl ester) is an alkaloid found predominantly in the root bark of the ''Voacanga africana'' tree, as well as in other plants such as '' Tabernanthe iboga'', ''Tabernaemontana africana'', '' Tra ...

in Mexican ''Tabernaemontana'' species, those plant could be used in economic production of anti-addictive alkaloids especially ibogaine and ibogamine. '' T. sananho'' preparations are used in native medicine to treat eye injuries and as an

anxiolytic An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or anti-anxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxie ...

, and '' T. heterophylla'' is used to treat

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

in the elderly. Conolidine may be developed as a new class of pain killer.

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s of the

oleander hawk-moth ''Daphnis nerii'', the oleander hawk-moth or army green moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Distribution ''Daphnis nerii'' is a large hawk-moth found in wi ...

(''Daphnis nerii'') have been found to feed on the

pinwheelflower ''Tabernaemontana divaricata'', commonly called pinwheel flower, crape jasmine, East India rosebay, and Nero's crown, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. In zones where it is not hardy it is grown a ...

(''T. divaricata'').

Taxonomy

The genus was described 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 ...

and published in

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...

1: 210–211 in 1753. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is '' T. citrifolia''.

Etymology

The genus name commemorates the "father of German botany" Jakob Theodor von Bergzabern, a.k.a. Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus, ''Tabernaemontanus'' being a compressed form of the original

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

name (''Tabernae Montanus'') of the botanist's home town of

Bergzabern Bad Bergzabern () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, on the German Wine Route in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, on the south-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest, approximately ...

- both the Latin and the German forms of the town's name meaning "tavern(s) in the mountains".

Species

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 ...

accepts the following 126 species:

Gallery

File:Tabernaemontana divaricata - JBM.jpg, Ornamental pinwheelflower ('' T. divaricata'') cv. 'Plena' File:Tabernaemontana divaricata habitus - JBM.jpg, Habit of ''T. divaricata'' File:Krötenbaum.jpg, alt=T. elegans (toad tree) : undehisced fruit, '' T. elegans'' (toad tree) : undehisced fruit File:Tabernaemontana catharinensis (1).JPG, '' T. catharinensis'': dehiscence of paired, ripe fruits, revealing black seeds in deep orange pulp. File:Tabernaemontana pandacaqui Blanco1.41.jpg, '' T. pandacaqui'' (banana bush) File:Tabernaemontana-2016.jpg, '' T. pachysiphon''

References

* (1995): ''In: Ayahuasca Analogues: Pangaean Entheogens''. * (2006): Plants with possible psychoactive effects used by the Krahô Indians, Brazil. ''Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria'' 28(4): 277–282
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{{Authority control Apocynaceae genera Ayahuasca Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plants described in 1753

Taxonomy

Etymology

Species

Gallery

See also

References