Rotheca myricoides

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Rotheca myricoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Rotheca
Species:
R. myricoides
Binomial name
Rotheca myricoides
(
Mabb.
Synonyms

Clerodendrum myricoides (Hochst.) Vatke
Clerodendrum ugandense Prain
Spironema myricoides Hochst. (basionym

Rotheca myricoides (butterfly bush – also a name for Buddleja species) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae.[1] It is native to Africa and widely cultivated elsewhere.[1] In cultivation, it is frequently known by one of its synonyms, such as Clerodendrum myricoides.[2]

The cultivar 'Ugandense' is an untidy evergreen shrub growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall and 2.5 m (8.2 ft) broad, with oval leaves and masses of pale blue flowers in summer and autumn. Each flower has a darker blue lower petal. With a minimum temperature of 10 °C (50 °F), this plant can only be grown under glass in temperate zones. The altitude range for this species is 900–1680 m.[3] It has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[4]

Distribution

Rotheca myricoides is native to mountains from Eritrea to South Africa.[5] It is native to Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Caprivi Strip, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eswatini, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.[5] It was introduced to Trinidad-Tobago, Australia, Brazil.[6][5]

Habitat

This species may be found in rocky places, streams and edges of the evergreen forest.[7]

Etymology

The Genus name, Rotheca, seemingly comes from the Malaysian words "cheriga" which means small and "thekku" which means teak.[8] The species epithet comes form a French word "myriades" which means ten thousand and a Latinization of a Greek "oides" which means to see.[8] Some say that the species epithet came about because it resembles another species in Myrica so the name refers to the leaf shape.[7]

'Ugandense' is a cultivar of this species which shows purplish-blue flowers with flashy stamens.[8] Originally named Clerodendrum myricoides 'Ugandense' but a 1998 study let to its current status as Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense".[8]

Morphology

Flowers

The flowers are arranged in dichasial

corolla is asymmetrical in the bud and they have a mid-lobe dark blue or violet blue while the lateral lobes are pale blue or mauve.[5][9] The calyx is bud-shaped with a tube of 5mm long and the lobes rounded to triangular.[5]

Lots of variation in the flower colour. It can be green and blue or mauve, white and blue, or blue to mauve.[10]

Fruits

The fruits of this species are 5-6 by 8–10 mm in dimension and are mostly deeply 4-lobed.[5]

Leaves

The leaf outline is mostly

elliptic or obovate.[10] The leaf margin is dentate or deeply lobed.[10] The indumentum of the leaves can be variable. There is often a hairy upper surface and can be sparsely to densely hairy on the lower surface. It has been described to feel velvety.[10] When the leaves are crushed, there is an unpleasant scent.[11] This may be due to the pelate hairs or pelate glands on the leaves.[11] The leaves are opposite are whorls of 3–4.[12] The petiole is 0–24 mm long.[12]

Branches

The young branches are normally angular, pale greyish-whitish and using with white lenticels. They are hairy, mostly at the growth points. The arrangement of the main branches are normally opposite. There are prominent leaf scars on the branches as well.[11] The branches can be 4-angled and brownish-red towards the apex. The lateral branches are short, leafy and flowering.[12]

Medicinal Uses

Traditional

Rotheca myricoides is used in traditional medicine to manage

impotence.[17]

In traditional medicine, European and African people used the bark of the species in its powdered form, and a teaspoon is used to treat snakebites.

furunculosis and swellings that are associated with debility.[18] The root of the plant is also used for chest pain, colds, gum bleeding and indigestion.[18] In Zimbabwe, it is used for headaches, bathing people with convulsions.[18] In West Africa, the plant is used for analgesic and antipyretic
purposes.

In Asian countries, this species has been brewed as a tea to relieve swelling and pain.[19]

Recent Studies

A 2019 study looked at freeze-dried extracts of the Rotheca myricoides and found that they possess significant

hepatic weight.[21] This study confirms the effectiveness of the traditional medicine to manage diabetes in Kenya. The mechanism for the antidiabetic effects is due to the modulation of PPAR-γ.[20]

A 2008 study found that Rotheca myricoides had

MeOH extracts shows clear anti-mutagenicity. The antimutagenic properties were seen even at low doses of 0.05 mg/L.[21]

Rotheca myricoides is one ingredient (along with four African medicinal plants: Clerodendrum glabrum E. Mey. Lamiaceae, Gladiolus dalenii van Geel, and Senna occidentalis (L.) Link) in a new COVID-19 therapeutic candidate called PHELA.[22] In vitro testing found that PHELA inhibited >90% of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV infection at concentration levels of 0.005 mg/mL to 0.03 mg/mL.[22] They also found that PHELA had very strong binding energy interactions with SARS-CoV-2 proteins.[22]

Ecology

The Rotheca myricoides interacts with several other species.[23] Pseumenes depressus, the Asian Hornet, and Xylocopa ruficeps all visit the Rotheca myricoides. Xylocopa phalothorax, Xylocopa tranquebarorum, Xylocopa nasalis eat the Rotheca myricoides.[23]

The status on the Red List of South African plants is at "Least Concern" as assessed on 2005/06/30 as it was not highlighted as a potential taxa for conservation concern.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "Rotheca myricoides". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  2. ^ "Clerodendrum myricoides 'Ugandense'". Plant Finder. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  3. JSTOR 3391997
    .
  4. ^ "Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense'". RHS. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Rotheca myricoides (Hochst.) Steane & Mabb. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  6. ^ "Rotheca myricoides (Hochst.) Steane & Mabb". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  7. ^ a b "Flora of Botswana: Species information: Rotheca myricoides". www.botswanaflora.com. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  8. ^ a b c d "Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense' - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  9. ^ a b c "Rotheca myricoides (Hochst.) Steane & Mabb". www.worldfloraonline.org. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  10. ^
    ISBN 9780521261920
    , retrieved 2022-12-05
  11. ^ a b c Verdcourt, B (1992). Flora of Tropical East Africa-Verbenaceae.
  12. ^
    JSTOR 4111185
    .
  13. ^
    PMID 22020309
    .
  14. PMID 22472473
    .
  15. S2CID 252507350
    .
  16. S2CID 18111784
    .
  17. S2CID 205837271
    .
  18. ^
    ISSN 0163-3864
    .
  19. ISBN 9780323855426
    , retrieved 2022-12-05
  20. ^
    S2CID 199380202. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
    .
  21. ^
    PMID 18602977. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
    .
  22. ^
    S2CID 249868349. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
    .
  23. ^ a b "search". www.globalbioticinteractions.org. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  24. ^ "Threatened Species Programme | SANBI Red List of South African Plants". redlist.sanbi.org. Retrieved 2022-12-06.

External links

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