# Strychnos

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{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Redirect|Lasiostoma|the myrmecophyte genus ''Lasiostoma'' Benth.|Hydnophytum}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Strychnos_toxifera_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-267.jpg
|image_caption = ''[Strychnos toxifera](/source/Strychnos_toxifera)''
|taxon = Strychnos
|authority = [L.](/source/Carl_Linnaeus)<ref name=POWO>{{cite POWO |title=''Strychnos'' |id=30010060-2 |access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref>
|diversity = c. 200 species
|diversity_link = List of Strychnos species
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
|synonyms =
  {{Species list
  | Atherstonea | Pappe
  | Brehmia | Harv.
  | Chemnicia | Scop.
  | Curare | Kunth ex Humb.
  | Ignatia | L.f.
  | Ignatiana | Lour.
  | Lasiostoma | Schreb.
  | Narda | Vell.
  | Rouhamon | Aubl.
  | Scyphostrychnos | S.Moore
  | Toxicaria | Schreb.
  | Unguacha | Hochst.
  }}
|synonyms_ref = <ref name=POWO/>
}}
[[File:Strychnos nux-vomica - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-266.jpg|thumb|''[Strychnos nux-vomica](/source/Strychnos_nux-vomica)'', the [strychnine](/source/strychnine) tree]]
[[File:Strychnos ignatii - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-132.jpg|thumb|''[Strychnos ignatii](/source/Strychnos_ignatii)'', the "bean of [St. Ignatius](/source/Saint_Ignatius_Loyola)"—another source of the very toxic, [convulsant](/source/convulsant) [indole alkaloid](/source/indole_alkaloid) strychnine]]

'''''Strychnos''''' is a [genus](/source/genus) of [flowering plant](/source/flowering_plant)s, belonging to the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Loganiaceae](/source/Loganiaceae) (sometimes Strychnaceae). The genus includes about 200 accepted [species](/source/species) of [tree](/source/tree)s and [liana](/source/liana)s.<ref name=POWO/> The genus is widely distributed around the world's tropics and is noted for the presence of poisonous indole alkaloids in the roots, stems and leaves of various species.  Among these alkaloids are the well-known and deadly poisons [strychnine](/source/strychnine) and [curare](/source/curare).

==Etymology==
The name ''strychnos'' was applied by [Pliny the Elder](/source/Pliny_the_Elder) in his ''[Natural History](/source/Natural_History_(Pliny))'' to ''[Solanum nigrum](/source/Solanum_nigrum)''. The word is derived from the [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) {{Lang|grc|στρύχνον}} ({{Lang|grc-Latn|strúkhnon}}) – "acrid", "bitter". The meaning of the word ''strychnos'' was not fixed in Ancient Greece, where it could designate a variety of different plants having in common the property of toxicity.<ref>Umberto Quattrocchi, CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names : Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms. Synonyms, and Etymology, vol. 4, CRC Press, 1999, {{ISBN|978-0-8493-2678-3}} p. 2589.</ref>

==Distribution==
The genus has a [pantropical](/source/pantropical) distribution.

==Taxonomy==
The genus is divided into 12 sections, though it is conceded that the sections do not reflect evolution of the genus, and all sections except ''Spinosae'' are polyphyletic:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aguilar |first1=Javier Fuertes |title=Phylogenetic Relationships and Classification of the Sida Generic Alliance (Malvaceae) Based on nrDNA ITS Evidence |date=2003 |journal=Systematic Botany |pages=352–364 |volume=28 |number=2 |jstor=3094004}}</ref>

* ''Strychnos'' (53 species)
* ''Rouhamon'' (21 species)
* ''Breviflorae'' (32 species)
* ''Penicillatae'' (17 species)
* ''Aculeatae'' (1 species)
* ''Spinosae'' (4 species)
* ''Brevitubae'' (18 species)
* ''Lanigerae'' (32 species)
* ''Phaeotrichae'' (1 species)
* ''Densiflorae'' (8 species)
* ''Dolichantae'' (9 species)
* ''Schyphostrychnos'' (1 species)

==Selected species==
{{Main|List of Strychnos species}}
*''[Strychnos benthami](/source/Strychnos_benthami)'' <small>[C.B.Clarke](/source/Charles_Baron_Clarke)</small>
*''[Strychnos camptoneura](/source/Strychnos_camptoneura)'' <small>[Gilg](/source/Ernest_Friedrich_Gilg) & [Busse](/source/Walter_Carl_Otto_Busse)</small>
*''[Strychnos chromatoxylon](/source/Strychnos_chromatoxylon)'' <small>[Leeuwenb.](/source/Anthonius_Josephus_Maria_Leeuwenberg)</small>
*''[Strychnos cocculoides](/source/Strychnos_cocculoides)'' <small>[Baker](/source/John_Gilbert_Baker)</small>
*''[Strychnos elaeocarpa](/source/Strychnos_elaeocarpa)'' <small>Gilg ex Leeuwenb.</small>
*''[Strychnos icaja](/source/Strychnos_icaja)'' <small>[Baill.](/source/Henri_Ernest_Baillon)</small>
*''[Strychnos ignatii](/source/Strychnos_ignatii)'' <small>[P.J. Bergius](/source/Peter_Jonas_Bergius)</small>
*''[Strychnos madagascariensis](/source/Strychnos_madagascariensis)'' <small>[Poir.](/source/Jean_Louis_Marie_Poiret)</small>
*''[Strychnos mellodora](/source/Strychnos_mellodora)'' <small>[S.Moore](/source/Spencer_Le_Marchant_Moore)</small>
*''[Strychnos millepunctata](/source/Strychnos_millepunctata)'' <small>Leeuwenb.</small>
*''[Strychnos nux-blanda](/source/Strychnos_nux-blanda)'' <small>[A.W.Hill](/source/Arthur_William_Hill)</small>
*''[Strychnos nux-vomica](/source/Strychnos_nux-vomica)'' <small>[L.](/source/Carl_Linnaeus)</small>
*''[Strychnos potatorum](/source/Strychnos_potatorum)'' <small>[L.f.](/source/Carl_Linnaeus_the_Younger)</small>
*''[Strychnos psilosperma](/source/Strychnos_psilosperma)'' <small>[F.Muell.](/source/Ferdinand_von_Mueller)</small>
*''[Strychnos pungens](/source/Strychnos_pungens)'' <small>[Soler.](/source/Hans_Solereder)</small>
*''[Strychnos spinosa](/source/Strychnos_spinosa)'' <small>[Lam.](/source/Jean-Baptiste_Lamarck)</small>
*''[Strychnos staudtii](/source/Strychnos_staudtii)'' <small>Gilg</small>
*''[Strychnos tetragona](/source/Strychnos_tetragona)'' <small>A.W.Hill</small>
*''[Strychnos toxifera](/source/Strychnos_toxifera)'' <small>[R.H.Schomb.](/source/Robert_Hermann_Schomburgk) ex [Lindl.](/source/John_Lindley)</small>
*''[Strychnos usambarensis](/source/Strychnos_usambarensis)'' <small>Gilg ex [Engl.](/source/Adolf_Engler)</small>

* The [strychnine tree](/source/strychnine_tree), ''Strychnos nux-vomica'', native to tropical Asia, is the source of the poison [strychnine](/source/strychnine).
* ''Strychnos tonga'', native to [Tonga](/source/Tonga), is a synonym of ''Strychnos spinosa''.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Strychnos tonga'' Gilg |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:547521-1 |website=Plants of the World Online (POWO) |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=4 February 2021}}</ref>
* ''[Strychnos ignatii](/source/Strychnos_ignatii)'' ("St. Ignatius bean"), is a closely related Asian shrub/tree.
* The species ''[Strychnos toxifera](/source/Strychnos_toxifera)'' is a principal plant source of the [arrow poison](/source/arrow_poison) [curare](/source/curare).
* Three trees from [Southern Africa](/source/Southern_Africa), commonly known as "[monkey orange](/source/monkey_orange)s", are drought-tolerant and produce popular edible fruits: the corky-barked monkey orange or suurklapper, ''[Strychnos cocculoides](/source/Strychnos_cocculoides)''; the Natal orange or green or spiny monkey orange, ''[Strychnos spinosa](/source/Strychnos_spinosa)''; and the black or spiny-leaved monkey orange ''[Strychnos pungens](/source/Strychnos_pungens)''.
* The ripe seeds of ''[Strychnos potatorum](/source/Strychnos_potatorum)'',<ref>[http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/600/610/614/solar-water/unesco/35-46.html Solar Disinfection Studies]</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr192005/cbytes165242005417.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409012214/http://deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr192005/cbytes165242005417.asp|date=19 April 2005|archive-date=9 April 2007|title=Solar Disinfection Studies|author=G. Annalakshmi|newspaper=Deccan Herald}}</ref>  known as Therran or Nirmal, can be ground and used as a [coagulant](/source/Flocculation) to [purify water](/source/water_purification); or they may be rubbed against the inside walls of the earthenware water containers. Mrs Grieve's Herbal of 1931 also mentions traditional water purification uses of an Indian species called ''Strychnos pseudo'' (not a valid botanical name).<ref>[http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/n/nuxvom08.html ''Strychnos nux-vomica'']</ref>
*Two very well preserved fossilised [corollas](/source/Petal) with [stamen](/source/stamen)s and [styles](/source/Style_(botany)) from flowers of a plant that has been named ''Strychnos electri'' (the Latin name of amber is ''electrum''), believed to be a vine, were discovered in [amber](/source/amber) from the Dominican Republic. The amber is from tropical tree ''[Hymenaea protera](/source/Hymenaea_protera)'', formerly abundant but now extinct, which formed part of the forest canopy. The age of the amber is believed to be between 15 and 45 million years, from the mid-[Tertiary period](/source/Tertiary_period). This demonstrates an early date for these plants.<ref name="2016-02-16_ABC">[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-16/ancient-flower-trapped-in-amber-found-in-dominican-republic/7169394 New species of ancient tropical flower found in amber from the Dominican Republic], Rachel Sullivan, [ABC News Online](/source/ABC_News_Online), 16 February 2016</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=[George Poinar Jr.](/source/George_Poinar_Jr.) and Lena Struwe |title=An asterid flower from neotropical mid-Tertiary amber |journal=Nature Plants |year=2016 |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=16005 |issn=2055-0278 |doi=10.1038/nplants.2016.5|pmid=27249345 |bibcode=2016NatPl...216005P |s2cid=205458561 }}, Article number 16005</ref>

==Gallery==

<gallery class="center" widths="160px" heights="120px">
File:Strychnos madagascariensis (4337703118).jpg|''[Strychnos madagascariensis](/source/Strychnos_madagascariensis)''
File:Strychnos nux-vomica flowers 04.JPG|''[Strychnos nux-vomica](/source/Strychnos_nux-vomica)'' flowers
File:Strychnos potatorum 05.jpg|''[Strychnos potatorum](/source/Strychnos_potatorum)''
File:Strychnos psilosperma foliage and fruit.jpg|''[Strychnos psilosperma](/source/Strychnos_psilosperma)''
File:Strychnos pungens, blomme, b, Seringveld.jpg|''[Strychnos pungens](/source/Strychnos_pungens)'' flowers 
File:Strychnos pungens, vrug, Little Eden.jpg|''[Strychnos pungens](/source/Strychnos_pungens)'' detached fruit
File:Strychnos spinosa tree.jpg|''[Strychnos spinosa](/source/Strychnos_spinosa)'' tree in fruit
File:Strychnos usambarensis00.jpg|''[Strychnos usambarensis](/source/Strychnos_usambarensis)'' in flower
File:Strychnos usambarensis02.jpg|''[Strychnos usambarensis](/source/Strychnos_usambarensis)'' in fruit
</gallery>

==See also==
* [List of Southern African indigenous trees and woody lianes](/source/List_of_Southern_African_indigenous_trees_and_woody_lianes)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{ cite journal |author1=Babu, R. |author2=Chaudhuri, M. | title = Home water treatment by direct filtration with natural coagulant | journal = Journal of Water and Health | date = Mar 2005 | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | pages = 27–30 |doi=10.2166/wh.2005.0003 | pmid = 15952450 | url = http://www.iwaponline.com/jwh/003/0027/0030027.pdf | doi-access = free |bibcode=2005JWH.....3...27B }}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q904222}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Strychnos
Category:Gentianales genera
Category:Pantropical flora

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Strychnos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strychnos) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strychnos?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.