Within the genus, studies have used different circumscriptions of the Mediterranean mandrakes. It has thus been placed in its own tribe, Mandragoreae. Molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that the genus belongs in the large subfamily Solanoideae, but that within this subfamily, it is one of a number of isolated genera with no immediate relatives. Traditionally, Mandragora has been considered to be closely related to Atropa and Lycium, being grouped together in the same tribe or subtribe as at least the first of these genera. Plants from the western Mediterranean, from Turkey westwards to the Iberian peninsula and Morocco, are placed in M. officinarum plants from the eastern Mediterranean, from Syria to Israel, are placed in M. autumnalis. Other sources divide M. officinarum sensu lato differently. found no distinct clusters among the specimens they examined and concluded that Linnaeus's M. officinarum is a single, variable species. Using statistical analysis of morphological characters, Ungricht et al. Identifying the former as Linnaeus's M. officinarum, works such as Flora Europaea listed two Mediterranean species of Mandragora: M. officinarum and M. autumnalis. In the 1820s, Antonio Bertoloni used flowering time to name two species as Mandragora vernalis, the spring-flowering mandrake, and Mandragora autumnalis, the autumn-flowering mandrake. The size and shape of the fruit and the colour and time of appearance of the flowers have been used to distinguish possible species. Dioscorides was among those who distinguished between "male" and "female" mandrakes, a distinction used in 1764 when Garsault published the names Mandragora mas and Mandragora foemina. (1998) have documented the subsequent confusion over the number of Mediterranean species of Mandragora and their scientific names. Jackson and Berry (1979) and Ungricht et al. (Linnaeus later changed his mind and in 1759 placed M. officinarum in the genus Atropa as A. The genus Mandragora was first used in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in the first edition of Species Plantarum where the Mediterranean species Mandragora officinarum was described, which is thus the type species of the genus. Mandragora officinarum with violet flowers After fertilization, a yellow or orange fruit forms (botanically a berry). The stamens are shorter than the petals, joined to the floral tube towards the base. The sepals are joined at the base, as are the petals, both in the shape of a lobed bell. The flowers are sometimes borne on a short stalk ( scape), and are solitary, with whorls of five parts. The leaves form a rosette at the base of the plant. Their stems are short or virtually absent. They have large vertical tap roots, sometimes forked. Species of Mandragora are perennial herbaceous plants. Mandrakes are involved in many myths and superstitions. Their roots in particular have a long use in traditional medicine. Like many members of the Solanaceae, species of Mandragora contain highly biologically active alkaloids that make the plants poisonous. Individual flowers are bell-shaped, whitish through to violet, and followed by yellow or orange berries. All are perennial herbaceous plants, with large tap roots and leaves in the form of a rosette. Two or three further species are found eastwards into China. The one or two species found around the Mediterranean constitute the mandrake of ancient writers such as Dioscorides. Between three and five species are placed in the genus. Members of the genus are known as mandrakes. Mandragora is a plant genus belonging to the nightshade family ( Solanaceae).
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