Colchicaceae

Autumn crocus ( Colchicum autumnale)

The Timeless plants ( Colchicaceae ) are a family of plants within the order of the lily -like ( Liliales ), that belong to the monocots. There are 17 to 21 genera with about 200-225 species. The botanical name is derived from the ancient Colchis, a region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

• 5.1 Notes and references

Description

Habitus and sheets

There are perennial herbaceous plants. All taxa are geophytes; the outlasting are at the Colchicaceae sprout tubers with a brown envelope or rarely rhizomes, both. no scale leaves They usually grow independently erect or climbing rare ( Gloriosa ).

The rarely stalked, usually seated leaves are simple, entire, parallel-veined, linear to lanceolate. Either form a basal rosette or are distributed on the stem, alternate and usually spirally arranged rarely two lines.

Inflorescences and flowers

The flowers are single or in axillary or terminal, racemose, or zymösen doldigen inflorescences ( inflorescences ). An inflorescence stem may be present or absent.

The hermaphrodite, radial symmetry blooms are triple. The bloom are alike, so there are (2 × 3) six tepals. The bloom may be mutually free or fused. Nectar secretion occurs by nectaries on the lower end of the tepals or stamens ( in Colchicum ). There are two circles, each provided with three fertile stamens, which are mutually free, but can be grown together with bloom cladding; they do not project beyond the bloom. Three (rarely four) carpels are a superior ovaries adherent to many ovules. There are usually three free stylus, rarely only one available, but always three scars.

The flowers formula is:

Fruit and seeds

They form seed capsules; they contain from 30 to 60 seeds. The oily seeds are wingless.

Chromosome numbers and ingredients

The chromosome numbers vary: n = 5-12 (-19 )

In terms of ingredients alkaloids are particularly noteworthy. Many of the species are toxic since they are often secondary metabolites such as the highly toxic colchicine included.

Dissemination

The range extends worldwide from the moderates zones to the tropics. However, they are absent in South America. They belong in the floral kingdoms of the Holarctic, Paleotropis and capensis. Centers of distribution are: Europe, the region from the Mediterranean to Central Asia and Northern India, and the summer rainfall areas of southern Africa.

System

The family name Colchicaceae 1805 published by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in Flore Française. He presented six genera in this family, three of whom are still expected to of which belong to the Liliaceae but heuteErythronium, Tofieldia to Tofieldiaceae and Veratrum to Melanthiaceae. For a long time all taxa were classified in the family Liliaceae. Leaves still within the Liliaceae Franz Buxbaum (1925, 1936, 1937), the taxa, but rearranges into subfamilies and tribes. Bertil Nordenstam 1982 provides some new tribe together. Through molecular genetic studies are of Chase et al. 1993, 1995 and Rudall et al. 1997 some genera Burchardia, Tripladenia, Uvularia and Disporum newly made ​​to the Colchicaceae. Since Nordenstam 1998 includes 19 genera with about 225 species of the family. In this work he also tribes and genera in two subfamilies: the subfamily of Wurmbeoideae have the taxa tubers, parallelvervige leaf blades, dry capsule fruits and Colchicine alkaloids; sometimes Netznervatur and alkaloids without tropolone ring. The division into two subfamilies and five tribes after Nordenstam 1982, 1998 and Dahlgren et al. 1985 could not be confirmed in studies by Annika Vinnersten & Gail Reeves 2003. Controversies is the one, the scope of the genus Colchicum including the genera Merendera, Bulbocodium and Androcymbium and on the other hand, the scope of the genus Gloriosa.

Synonyms for Colchicaceae DC. are: Bulbocodiaceae Salisb, Burchardiaceae Takht, Compsoaceae Horaninow, Merenderaceae Kral and Uvulariaceae A. Gray ex Kunth, nom. .. cons ..

Within the order of the Liliales Colchicaceae are most closely related to the Alstroemeriaceae, Luzuriagaceae and Petermanniaceae; these four families are closely related to the Melanthiaceae.

One can divide the family into several tribes, recent studies, for example, so go to a new system by: The division into subfamilies can not be maintained without forming several new subfamilies to obtain monophyletic taxa; but this does not make sense at a relatively small family. Therefore, it is broken down by Annika Vinnersten & John C. Manning in 2007, only now six tribes. There are in the family of Colchicaceae (15 to 21) for about 16 genera and about 200 to 225 species.:

• Tribus Anguillarieae D.Don, Syn: Baeometreae: it contains only two species in Africa and Australia: Baeometra Salisb. ex Endl. contains only one type: Baeometra uniflora ( Jacq. ) GJLewis: It is endemic in South Africa's Western Cape province. It is used as an ornamental plant and has run wild, for example, in Australia.

• Tribus Burchardieae JCManning & Vinn. Contains only one genus: Burchardia R.Br.: it contains five to six native species in Australia.

• Tribus Colchiceae Rchb. With five or six genera and about 170 species in Eurasia and Africa: Androcymbium Willd. Contains including Erythrostictus Schltdl. about 55 to 90 kinds, such as: Androcymbium rechingeri Greuter: It occurs only in Crete.

• Hexacyrtis dickiana Dinter: The home is Namibia.

• Lantern lily ( Sander aurantiaca Hook. ): It is native to South Africa.

• Tribus Iphigenieae Hutch. Contains two genera with about ten species in the Old World: Camptorrhiza Hutch. With only two species in the tropical and southern Africa.
• Iphigenia Kunth: It contains about twelve species in the Old World.

• Tribus Tripladenieae Vinn. & JCManning: it contains only three genera in Australia and New Guinea. Kuntheria Conran & Clifford: it contains only one type: Kuntheria pedunculata ( F.Muell. ) Conran & Cliff. It is endemic in the rainforests of northern Queensland.

• Tripladenia cunninghamii D.Don: It is native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.

• Tribus Uvularieae Meisn. Disjunktem It has an area in North America, Asia and the eastern Indonesian archipelago and contains only two genera: Disporum Salisb. Contains approximately 21 species in Asia.
• Uvularia L.: It contains about five species in North America.

Use

It can be used by humans only very few species. The present in many species, toxic ingredient colchicine is used in research and medicine.

Some species of the genera Colchicum, Gloriosa, Sandersonia and their varieties are used as ornamental plants.

Swell

• Description of the Colchicaceae family in APWebsite ( section systematics).
• Description of the family of Colchicaceae at DELTA. ( Description section )
• Eugene Nasir: Flora of West Pakistan. 125 Colchicaceae. Stewart Herbarium, Rawalpindi 1979 online ( Description section ).
• Leslie Watson: Colchicaceae. In: Western Australian Herbarium (ed.): Flora Base. The Western Australian Flora. Department of Environment and Conservation 2008, online.
• Annika Vinnersten, John C. Manning: A new classification of Colchicaceae. In: taxon. Volume 56, No. 1, 2007, pp. 163-169, Abstract ( section systematics).