Spigelia longiflora, with no commonly used English name, is an attractive species of wildflower endemic to Mexico. It belongs to the mostly tropical family Loganiaceae.[1]
| Spigelia longiflora | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Spigelia longiflora in habitat | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Loganiaceae |
| Genus: | Spigelia |
| Species: | S. longiflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Spigelia longiflora | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Description
editHere are distinctive features of Spigelia longiflora:[2][3]
- Herbaceous, hairy stems are up to 80 cm (31 in) tall.
- Leaves with no petioles arise in pairs opposite one another. Blades tend to be widest below their middles and tapered to a sharp point, with margins lacking teeth, lobes or indentations. Blades are up to 17.5 cm (7 in) long and about half that wide.
- Branched inflorescences at stem tips bear 5-15 flowers on each branch, which curves outward and downward. Flowers alternately arise on different sides of each branch rachis and bend upward; such inflorescences are "scorpioid cymes."
Taxonomy
editIn 1844, Spigelia longiflora was formally named and described by Martin Martens and Henri Guillaume Galeotti from a collection made by Galeotti near Real del Monte, now named Mineral del Monte, in Hidalgo state, at 6,500 ft (2,000 m) feet in elevation.[4]
Etymology
editThe genus name Spigelia honors Adriaan van den Spiegel.[5]
The species epithet longiflora is Latin for 'long flowers'.[6]
Distribution
editHabitat
editSpigelia longiflora inhabits conifer and oak forests, cloud forests, and secondary vegetation associated with each forest type, as well as scrub at elevations between 1,100–2,900 m (3,600–9,500 ft).[2][3]
Conservation status
editAs a poisonous plant
editIn Mexico Spigelia longiflora is used as a pesticide.[8] In an 1894 classic book on Mexican medicine it is reported that in Hidalgo state, since very remote times, the plant has been used to kill certain animals. Animals of large size are said to die quickly by ingesting not very large quantities of the fresh plant. Smaller animals such as dogs and rabbits died in early laboratory experiments after ingesting less than a cubic centimeter of plant extract.[9] Despite such reports, and knowing that the species contains active ingredients such as the toxic alkaloid spigeline, in traditional medicine the root is used to increase peristaltic movements, thus serving as an anthelmintic and purgative.[10]
References
edit- 1 2 "Spigelia longiflora M.Martens & Galeotti". Plants of the World Online. United Kingdom: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Islas-Hernández, C. Sofia; Alvarado-Cárdenas, Leonardo O. (March 11, 2024). "Synopsis of the genus Spigelia (Loganiaceae) in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean". Acta botánica mexicana. 130. Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México: SciELO. ISSN 2448-7589. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
- 1 2 Islas Hernández, C. Sofia; Alvarado-Cárdenas, Leonardo O. (2017). "Loganaceae" (PDF). Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes (in Spanish). 201. Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México: Instituto de Ecología, A.C. (INECOL): 8–10. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
- ↑ Martens, M.; Galeotti, H. (1844). "Enumeratio synptica plantarum phanerogamicarum ab Henrico Galeotti in regionibus mexicais collectarum". Bulletins de l’Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Bruxelles. Botanique (in French and Latin). Vol. 11 (1 ed.). Bruxelles: M. Hayez, Imprimeur de l'Académie Royale. p. 376.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ Mathews, Katherine G. "Spigelia Linnaeus. In Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA)". St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA, USA: New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
- ↑ "Euclinia longiflora Salisb". Flora & Fauna Web. Singapore: National Parks Board, Government Agency. February 18, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
- ↑ Villaseñor, José Luis (August 4, 2016). "Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico". Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad. 87. Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
- ↑ Villavicencio-Nieto, Miguel Ángel; Pérez-Escandón, Blanca Estela; Gordillo-Martínez, Alberto José (September 2010). "Plantas tradicionalmente usadas como plaguicidas en el estado de Hidalgo, México". Polibotánica (in Spanish with English abstract). 30. Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México: SciELO. ISSN 1405-2768. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ Toussaint, Manuel (1894). "La Sangre de Toro. Spigelia longiflora. - Loganiáceas". Datos para la materia médica Mexicana (PDF) (in Spanish). Vol. 1. Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Fomento/ Instituto Médico Nacional. pp. 251–258.
- ↑ Benavides-Mendoza, Adalberto; Hernández Valencia, Rosa Elia M.; Ramírez Rodríguez, Homero; Sandoval Rangel, Alberto (January 2010). "5 Plantas Tóxicas y Plantas Mdicinales". Tratado de Botánica Económica Moderna (PDF) (in Spanish). Saltillo, Coahuila, México: Uiversidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro. p. 19. ISBN 968844-050-7.