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Cynanchum

Cynanchum is a genus of about 300 species including some swallowworts, belonging to the family Apocynaceae. The taxon name comes from Greek kynos (meaning "dog") and anchein ("to choke"), hence the common name for several species is dog-strangling vine. Most species are non-succulent climbers or twiners. There is some evidence of toxicity.[2]

Morphology

These plants are perennial herbs or subshrubs, often growing from rhizomes. The leaves are usually oppositely arranged and sometimes are borne on petioles. The inflorescences and flowers come in a variety of shapes.

Like other species of the milkweed family, these plants bear follicles, which are podlike dry fruits.

Distribution

These species are found throughout the tropics and subtropics. Several species also grow in temperate regions.

Importance

The root of Cynanchum atratum is used in Chinese traditional medicine and called Bai wei (白薇).[3] Several other species had traditional Chinese medicinal uses.

Classification

Cynanchum as defined in the late 20th century (to include about 400 species) is polyphyletic and is being broken up. Species are being moved to genera including Orthosia, Pentarrhinum, and Vincetoxicum, with a group of mostly Old World species staying in Cynanchum,[4][5] and old genera such as Raphistemma brought to synonymy. Revision of the genus taxonomy in 2023 identified two new synonyms: Vincetoxicum sibiricum f. linearifolium, described from Shandong, China in 1877, but long neglected and Cynanchum gobicum, previously believed to be endemic to Mongolia.[6]

Species

As of February 2023, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[7]

Former species

References

  1. ^ a b "Cynanchum L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Plants for a Future Database".
  3. ^ https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/白薇
  4. ^ Alan S. Weakley (April 2008). "Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and Surrounding Areas". Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  5. ^ Sigrid Liede and Angelika Tauber (Oct–Dec 2002). "Circumscription of the Genus Cynanchum (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae)". Systematic Botany. 27 (4): 789–800. doi:10.1043/0363-6445-27.4.789 (inactive 1 November 2024). JSTOR 3093924.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  6. ^ Cai-Fei Zhang, Dong-Juan Zhang, Miao Liao, Guang-Wan Hu (19 January 2023). "A taxonomic revision of Cynanchum thesioides (Apocynaceae) with two new synonyms". PhytoKeys (219): 11–25. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.219.93514. PMC 10210048. PMID 37252452. S2CID 256161021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Cynanchum L." Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  8. ^ Bussmann R. W.; et al. (2006). "Plant use of the Maasai of Sekenani Valley, Maasai Mara, Kenya". J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2: 22. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-2-22. PMC 1475560. PMID 16674830.