Kopsia

Kopsia arborea

Kopsia is a genus of shrubs and small trees of the family of the dogbane family ( Apocynaceae ), which occurs with more than 20 species in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific. The flowers have a stem plate-shaped crown with white or pink color and in some species with a striking colored, yellow or red center as Saftmal.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The Kopsia species are consistently evergreen shrubs and small trees. The largest plant height is given as 14 m for Kopsia arborea. Buttress roots do not occur. Young branches are usually somewhat edgy, older terete, angular or winged. Thorns absent. The branches are usually glabrous, rarely pubescent. Lenticels are present or absent. The leaves are opposite, where they are in pairs of approximately equal size. They are usually stalked up to 17 mm long, can also be sessile in some species. The bases of the younger leaves and the petioles usually enclosing the terminal bud, the older the stem axis and form between the petioles an edge. In the axils of small glandular emergences ( Kolle Teren ) occur. The simple and undivided, full leaves leaf blade is usually slightly leathery to leathery, less often herbaceous. It is broadly elliptic to oblong or lanceolate, reaches a length of up to 32 cm and a width of up to 12 cm, has a wedge- shaped to obtuse or rounded base and front is cambered or short acuminate to long. The leaf blade is on both sides bald in most species, with some on the midrib and lateral nerves short- pubescent. It has a pinnate venation with - depending on the type - 7-46 pairs of lateral veins of the first order, which often combine at its end to a Spreitenrand the accompanying nerve. The first-order lateral nerves are well distinguishable in most species. The plant contains a white milky sap.

Inflorescences and flowers

The inflorescences are sitting on usually only a few centimeters long stalks or sessile at the ends of the branches, very rarely some in the leaf axils. You are dichasial at the base, rarely branched trichasial. Depending on the part of inflorescences dichasial or monochasial ( wickelig ) can set up and the short -stalked, rarely sessile flowers be placed closer or looser. The inflorescences are bare to densely pubescent. The bracts and bracteoles are small and remain for a long time.

The hermaphroditic, fragrant flowers are radial symmetry and built fünfzählig. The divided almost to the base cup is in most species only 1.5-3 mm long, with erect, usually ovate, mostly obtuse or rounded calyx lobes, wear the outside of the tip a gland. For individual species, such as Kopsia arborea, the sepals oblong can also be up to 6.3 mm long and pointed. In the axils of the sepals, there is no Kolle Teren. The deformed from five petals corolla is salverform, with narrow corolla tube and horizontally projecting free corolla lobes that are screwed overlapping in the bud position to the right. The corolla lobes are elliptical, verkehrteiförmig, oblong to linear and front rounded to pointed. Maw shed or a corona missing. The crown is usually outside glabrous, more rarely, it has some hairs on the corolla lobes and the outside at the top of the corolla tube on. At the throat, the crown is usually dense pubescent, sometimes glabrous. The dimensions of the flower range from the small- Kopsia larutensis with 7-10.5 mm long tubes and 5-10 mm long and 1-1.5 mm wide lobes up to large-flowered species such as Kopsia flavida, the 26-38 (-49 ) mm long tubes and 16-31 mm long and has 6 to 12.5 mm wide tip. The coloring of the crown is species-specific, with white or pink color and in some species with a striking colored, yellow or red center as Saftmal. The five stamens are hidden in the corolla tube and have thin, short, straight filaments. They are inserted in most species just below the top of the corolla tube, in some species, but also about the middle of the corolla tube and rarely against the base of the corolla tube to. The corolla tube is at the point where the stamens are inserted, expanded somewhat hairy and fluffy on the inside in this area. The two- counters dust bags are dorsifix so attached to her back to the filament. They are ovate to lanceolate, have a rounded or heart-shaped base and pointed toe. The anthers are fertile along its whole length and open with slits lengthwise. You are not connected to the stylus head. The Upper constant gynoecium consists of two bald or hairy fluff carpels that are fused only at the tip to a common pen. The bald, thread-like stylus is usually not sufficient up to the stamens and ends in a short, cylindrical, inked pen head, which has a wider collar at the base. The receptive ready scar area is located on the sides of the pen head. Each carpel contains two ovules, but of which develops usually only one. At the base of the flower sits a discus, which consists of two with the carpels alternating, mostly oblong to pfriemlichen cloth. This discussion is hairy at Kopsia griffithii, bald with all other species.

Fruit and seeds

The fruits that develop each consisting of a single carpel, are usually in pairs. Sometimes, however, also one of the two remains undeveloped, particularly common in Kopsia arborea. It is ellipsoidal or curved, usually ± flattened drupes, which are up about 2 inches long in most species, such as Kopsia arborea but can also be more than 4 inches long. As far as the fruits are known for the individual species, they usually have on the ventral, as against the flower center side directed toward a spur or at least a sharp edge. This missing only Kopsia arborea and on the other hand take long to Kopsia flavida with 13 mm. The color of the fruit is in most species unknown in Kopsia arborea it is blue - black, for Kopsia hainanensis it is indicated as red or orange. The stone core is thin-walled. The egg-shaped flattened seeds are curved, wider at one end and pointed at the other. The endosperm is very thin or missing.

Ingredients

The Kopsia species are rich in alkaloids. The alkaloids belong to Aspidosperman type, subtypes Aspidofractinin and Eburnan. You are in the broad sense indole alkaloids.

Chromosomes

From Kopsia two - species chromosome numbers are known so far. Kopsia fruticosa has a diploid chromosome complement of 2n = 36, Kopsia arborea a diploid set of chromosomes with 2n = 72 thus results as haploid basic number of the genus is x = 18

Dissemination

The genus colonized most of Southeast Asia and Melanesia, as well as the northeast of Australia. The western and northern limit of the distribution area extends from the Nicobar and Andaman Islands on the southeast by Myanmar and northern Thailand in the tropical south of China to the northeast about to Hong Kong, and is almost everywhere formed by Kopsia arborea, but also in the Philippines, in Malaysia and Indonesia is widespread and in the east is still found in the tropical coast of the Australian state of Queensland. The eastern site boundary is formed by the genus Kopsia flavida whose distribution extends from the Philippines and the western Micronesia (eg Babelthuap ) over New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The native in southeastern Myanmar Kopsia fruticosa is cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal plant and can sometimes run wild outside the former range of the species.

Most species have only a small area of ​​distribution with a few 100 km in diameter. In addition to the small- to regionally widespread species there are only three widespread species complex with diameters greater than 800 km, namely Kopsia arborea, Kopsia flavida, and Kopsia pauciflora.

The area with the greatest density of species belonging to Malaysia is the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, where eleven species are native, five of them endemic, two otherwise only in Singapore and another also only on the Anambas Islands. More accumulation ranges from small-scale distributed species are the north of Borneo, where three species in Sarawak and a kind are endemic to Sabah, and Vietnam with three endemic species.

Habitat

The ecological requirements of Kopsia species are only known in broad outline, of several species, the habitat requirements are in general unknown. The species usually occur in the understory and lower tree layer of different tropical forests, both evergreen tropical rain forests as well as in relatively dry, rain green monsoon forests. For individual species, such Kopsia singapurensis, also deposits in swamp forests and on river banks are known. Occurrence along forest edges and in secondary forests are also mentioned in several species. Most deposits are located at low altitudes up to about 300 m above sea level, several species occur up to about 900 m. For two species, Kopsia arborea and Kopsia pauciflora, a wide range of occurrences from sea level to about 1500 m is known.

Flower and fruit biology

The flowers are open during the day. The appearance of the flowers indicates a pollination by butterflies ( Psychophilie ). As in other plants with stone fruit, the seeds are probably spread from birds or mammals, wherein Kopsia.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus was described in 1823 by Kopsia Carl Ludwig Blume. The only way then was Kopsia arborea. It is therefore the holotype of the species. Calpicarpum G.Don and Kentrochrosia K.Schum. & Lauterb. are synonyms of Kopsia.

One older homonym is Kopsia Dumort. , A name that dates back to 1822 and with the type species Kopsia ramosa ( Orobanche ramosa = ) on a portion of the summer Wurzen ( Orobanche ) refers. Thus, the priority rule does not apply, the name Kopsia Flower therefore had to be protected as a noun conservandum.

Kopsia will be provided within the family of the dogbane family ( Apocynaceae ) to the subfamily Rauvolfioideae. Together with genres such as periwinkle (Vinca ) and room periwinkle ( Catharanthus ) Kopsia belongs to the tribe Vinceae. After this tribe has been found in its previous version by a molecular biological study to be non - monophyletic, the Vinceae have been re- bounded by the genus Amsonia excluded and the genera Kamettia, Laxoplumeria and Tonduzia were incorporated lately. This revision was based on an investigation on the basis of five sequences from the chloroplast genome. In this work, Kopsia has shown as sister taxon of all other Vinceae, with this position did not result from all methods used. However, a possible sister group relationship with the tribe Tabernaemontaneae had a significantly poorer statistical validation to as belonging to the Vinceae. This is also supported by morphological features. The following cladogram shows the probable relationships:

Willughbeieae

Tabernaemontaneae

Kopsia

Tonduzia

Vinca

Ochrosia (including Neisosperma )

Catharanthus

Kamettia

Rauvolfia

Etymology

The genus Kopsia is named after the Dutch botanist January Kops ( 1765-1849 ).

Species

Kopsia currently comprises 24 species. In the 2004 release revision of the genus 23 accepted species are treated. Another way Kopsia vidalii from Vietnam, had been discovered too late to be included in this work. It was described shortly in a separate publication. Because some regions in the distribution of the genus, such as Sumatra and Kalimantan, not been studied with the same intensity as are the Malay Peninsula and are therefore well represented in scientific collections less can be expected there with other small-scale distributed species.

Several species that were originally described under Kopsia or its synonym Calpicarpum, are now placed to Ochrosia. Kopsia cochinchinensis Kuntze is a synonym of Tabernaemontana divaricata, Kopsia pilosa A.DC. of Carruthersia pilosa and Kopsia majumdarii M.Gangop. & Chakrab. even Kayea kunstleri ( Calophyllaceae ).

Use

Some species are used for medicinal purposes. Kopsia pauciflora has laxative effect. In Malaysia, several species are used for envelopes with syphilis ulcers. In Traditional Chinese Medicine Kopsia arborea ( syn. Kopsia officinalis) is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and gout. In Vanuatu Kopsia flavida is used as a contraceptive. More traditional for Kopsia arborea folk medicine uses include the use of a decoction of the bark for enemas and the use of leaves and fruits against sore throats and tonsillitis.

As an ornamental plant especially Kopsia fruticosa is cultivated.

Endangering

Some Kopsia species listed in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN. Accordingly, the two occurring in the north of Borneo species Kopsia sleeseniana and Kopsia tenuis are due to the small distribution area 'at risk' classified (VU). When occurring in the south of the Malay Peninsula, as well as 'vulnerable' (VU) rated Kopsia singapurensis the increasing population pressure is cited as the most important threat cause. Another type listed, Kopsia lancifolia Markgr. is now regarded as a synonym of the widespread Kopsia pauciflora.

Swell

• Forster P. I. 1996: 10 Kopsia. In: Flora of Australia. Vol 28: Gentianales. CSIRO, Melbourne, ISBN 0-643-05884-2 (Hardcover) ISBN 0-643-05885-0 and (Softcover). Page 134
• Li Ping -tao, Leeuwenberg AJM, Middleton DJ 1995: Apocynaceae. In: Flora of China. Vol 16: Gentianaceae through Boraginaceae. Science Press, Beijing, Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, ISBN 0-915279-33-9, pp. 143-188. - Kopsia - Online
• Middleton D. J. 1999: Apocynaceae. In: Flora of Thailand. Vol 7 (1). The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, pp. 1-153.
• Middleton DJ, 2004: A revision of Kopsia ( Apocynaceae: Rauvolfioideae ). Harvard Papers in Botany 9: 89-142. - PDF.
• Middleton DJ 2007: Apocynaceae ( subfamilies Rauvolfioideae and Apocynoideae ). In: Flora Malesiana. Ser. I, Vol 18, Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Leiden, ISBN 978-90-71236-65-5, 474 pp.
• Pitard J. 1933: Apocynacées. In: Lecomte H., Humbert H., Gagnepain F. (ed.): Flore générale de l' Indo- Chine. Tome 3 Masson, Paris, pp. 1087-1262. - Kopsia - Online