| Menispermaceae | |
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| Menispermum canadense | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Menispermaceae Juss.[2] |
| Genera[3] | |
81, see text | |
Menispermaceae (botanical Latin: 'moonseed family' from Greekmene 'crescent moon' andsperma 'seed') is afamily offlowering plants. Thealkaloidtubocurarine, a neuromuscular blocker and the active ingredient in the 'tube curare' form of the dart poisoncurare, is derived from the South American lianaChondrodendron tomentosum, which belongs to this family. Several other South American genera belonging to the family have been used to prepare the 'pot' and 'calabash' forms of curare. The family contains 81genera[3] with some 440species,[4] which are distributed throughout low-lying tropical areas with some species present in temperate and arid regions.
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It is thought that the cauliflorous species are pollinated by smallbees,beetles orflies although there are no direct observations of this. Birds disperse the purple or black drupes, for exampleSayornis phoebe (atyrant flycatcher) eats the fruit ofCocculus. InTinospora cordifolia a lapse of 6–8 weeks has been observed between fertilization and the firstzygotic cell division.
The Menispermaceae predominantly inhabit low elevation tropical forests (up to 2,100m), where they are climbers, but some genera and species have adapted to arid locations (Antizoma species have adapted to the South African deserts orCebatha balfourii and itsphylloclades have adapted to the climate on the island ofSocotra) and other temperate climates.C3 photosynthesis has been recorded inMenispermum.
The family contains a wide range ofbenzylisoquinoline compounds (alkaloids) andlignans such as furofuran,flavones andflavonols and someproanthocyanidins. The most notable are the wide variety of alkaloids derived from benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline andaporphine, which accumulate as dimers, as well as the alkaloids derived frommorphinan and fromhasubanan and other diverse types of alkaloid such as derivative of aza-fluoranthene. Sesquiterpenes such aspicrotoxin and diterpenes such asclerodane diterpene are also present, while thetriterpenes are scarce and where present are similar tooleanane.Ecdysone steroids have also been found. Some species are cyanogenic.[citation needed]
The Menispermaceae have been used in traditionalpharmacopeia and drugs have been formulated from these plants that are of great use in modern medicine. These drugs are based on alkaloids and includetubocurarine fromcurare, a poison used by indigenous South American tribes on their poison darts, that is obtained from species ofCurarea,Chondrodendron,Sciadotenia, andTelitoxicum. A similar poison was used in Asia that was obtained from species ofAnamirta,Tinospora,Coscinium, andCocculus. Tubocurarine and its synthetic derivatives are used to relax muscles during surgical interventions. The roots of "kalumba" or "colombo" (Jateorhiza palmata) are used in Africa for stomach problems and againstdysentery. Species ofTinospora are used in Asia as antipyretics, the fruit ofAnamirta cocculus is used to poison fish and birds and the stems ofFibraurea are used to dye fabric yellow. The South East Asian speciesCoscinium fenestratum, a local Thai remedy for stomach ailments (which containsberberine and related alkaloids) was recently implicated in mass harvesting operations to prepare extracts usable as precursors in the manufacture of the drugMDMA.[5]
TheMiddle Cretaceous genusCallicrypta from Siberia has been placed into Menispermaceae.[1] The Paleocene fossil record for the family includes at least 11 genera identified from compression leaf fossils found in Alaska and 15 genera and approximately 22 different Menispermaceae species identified from theEarly EoceneLondon Clay. The London Clay generaEohypserpa andTinomiscoidea named byReid &Chandler (1933) from mineralized nuts and additional three generaAtriaecarpum,Davisicarpum, andPalaeosinomenium were later described by Chandler (1961, 1978). Additional species from those genera were identified in the Clarno nut beds by Scott and Manchester respectively.[6]
Menispermaceae is one of the most diverse families found in theMiddle EoceneClarno nut beds of central Oregon. Species belonging to thirteen different genera, mostly extinct, have been described based on cast or permineralized fruit and nut fossils from the beds, and four different foliage types are known from associated compression fossils.Chandlera andOdontocaryoideae were described by Scott (1954), while Manchester (1994) describedCurvitinospora andThanikaimonia.[6]
TheAPG IV system (2016; unchanged from the prior systems of1998,2003, and2009) recognizes this family and places it with theeudicots orderRanunculales. Their trimerous flower structure is similar to theLardizabalaceae andBerberidaceae, although they differ from them in other important characteristics. The APW (Angiosperm Phylogeny Website) considers that they form part of the OrderRanunculales, and that they are a sister group on the branch formed by theLardizabalaceae andBerberidaceae families in a reasonably advanced clade of the order.[7] Kinship with the Berberidaceae is further borne out by similarities in phytochemistry e.g. in the presence ofberberine and related alkaloids. It is a medium-sized family of 78genera[3] totaling 420 extantspecies,[7] mostly of climbing plants. The great majority of the genera aretropical, but with a few (notablyMenispermum andCocculus) reaching temperate climates in easternNorth America and easternAsia.
The genetic factors within Menispermaceae are very narrow resulting in many genera with one or a few species. According to Kessler (1993)[8] there wasn't sufficient data from genetic studies to evaluate subfamily and tribal division into five tribes (see Kessler, 1993, in the References section). As such, division was fundamentally based on morphologic characteristics of the seeds with doubts as to whether the tribes are monophyletic. Further molecular research compiled and conducted by theAngiosperm Phylogeny Group has clarified many of the interrelationships of the family.[7]
Burasaieae
Coscinieae
Anomospermeae
Cissampelidae
Limacieae
Menispermeae
Pachygoneae
Spirospermeae
Tiliacoreae
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Media related toMenispermaceae at Wikimedia Commons
Data related toMenispermaceae at Wikispecies| National | |
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