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Genus of flowering plants in the borage family Boraginaceae
Lithospermum is a
genus of
plants belonging to the
family
Boraginaceae . The genus is distributed nearly worldwide, but most are native to the
Americas and the
center of diversity is in the
southwestern United States and
Mexico .
[2] Species are known generally as gromwells or stoneseeds .
Taxonomy
There are about 50,
[3] to 60 species in the genus.
[4]
Some species, such as
Lithospermum arvense , are sometimes classified in the genus
Buglossoides , but that genus is subsumed into Lithospermum by works such as the
Flora of China .
[3] In addition, a 2009 molecular study showed that the genus Onosmodium should be included within Lithospermum .
[2]
Species include:
[3]
[5]
[6]
Lithospermum arvense (syn. Buglossoides arvensis ) – field gromwell, corn gromwell
Lithospermum azuayensis
[7]
Lithospermum bejariense – western marbleseed
Lithospermum bolivariensis
[7]
Lithospermum californicum – California stoneseed
Lithospermum calycosum – Chinati stoneseed
Lithospermum canescens – hoary puccoon, Indian-paint
Lithospermum caroliniense – Carolina gromwell, hairy puccoon
Lithospermum cobrense – smooththroat stoneseed
Lithospermum confine – Arizona stoneseed
Lithospermum cuzcoensis
[7]
Lithospermum erythrorhizon – purple gromwell, red-root gromwell, 紫草 zicao (
Pinyin : zǐcǎo), 紫草 murasaki・sō (
Japanese )
Lithospermum hancockianum
Lithospermum incisum – narrowleaf stoneseed, fringed gromwell
Lithospermum latifolium – American stoneseed
Lithospermum leymebambensis
[7]
Lithospermum macbridei
Lithospermum matamorense – rough stoneseed
Lithospermum mirabile – San Antonio stoneseed
Lithospermum molle – softhair marbleseed
Lithospermum multiflorum – manyflowered stoneseed
Lithospermum obtusifolium – roundleaf stoneseed
Lithospermum officinale – common gromwell, European stoneseed
Lithospermum parksii – Parks' stoneseed
Lithospermum parviflorum – eastern prairie marbleseed
Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum (syn. Buglossoides purpurocaerulea ) – purple gromwell
Lithospermum rodriguezii
[7]
Lithospermum ruderale – western stoneseed, Columbia puccoon, wayside gromwell, whiteweed
Lithospermum tuberosum – southern stoneseed, tuberous gromwell
Lithospermum viride – green stoneseed
Ecology
Lithospermum leaves are eaten by the
caterpillars of certain
Lepidoptera , such as the
moth
Ethmia pusiella which has been recorded on L. officinale .
Uses
The dried root of Lithospermum erythrorhizon is a Chinese
herbal medicine with various antiviral and biological activities, including inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).
[8]
[9]
Lithospermum erythrorhizon is native to
Japan , where it has been traditionally used to make a
purple
dye . In southwestern North America, a species of this genus was used as a contraceptive by the
Shoshone Native American tribe.
[10]
Fossil record
7
petrified nutlets and nutlet fragments of a Lithospermum species have been described from the
Late Miocene
Ash Hollow Formation ,
Ogallala Group , five km south of Martin in
Bennett County ,
South Dakota . †Lithospermum dakotense sp. nov. shows similarities in size, shape, attachment and
epidermal cell patterns to extant Lithospermum species. The
fossil nutlets were preserved in various stages of maturity. The fossils closely resemble the nutlets of
Lithospermum caroliniense and
Lithospermum incisum .
[11]
References
^
"Lithospermum L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science" . Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 23 June 2022 .
^
a
b Cohen, James I.; Davis, Jerrold I. (2009). "Nomenclatural changes in Lithospermum (Boraginaceae) and related taxa following a reassessment of phylogenetic relationships". Brittonia . 61 (2): 101–111.
doi :
10.1007/s12228-009-9082-z .
S2CID
31935880 .
^
a
b
c
"Lithospermum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 132. 1753" . Flora of China .
^ Cohen, J. I., (2012).
Comparative floral development in Lithospermum (Boraginaceae) and implications for the evolution and development of heterostyly. American Journal of Botany 99(5), 797–805.
^
GRIN Species Records of Lithospermum .
Archived 2015-09-24 at the
Wayback Machine Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
^
Lithospermum . USDA Plants: North American species.
^
a
b
c
d
e Weigend, M., et al. (2010).
Five new species of Lithospermum L.(Boraginaceae tribe Lithospermeae) in Andean South America: another radiation in the Amotape-Huancabamba zone. Taxon 59(4), 1161–1179.
^ Chen, X., et al. (2003).
Shikonin, a component of Chinese herbal medicine, inhibits chemokine receptor function and suppresses human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 47(9), 2810–2816.
^ Gao, H., et al. (2011). Anti-adenovirus activities of shikonin, a component of Chinese herbal medicine in vitro. Biol Pharm Bull . 34(2) 197–202.
^ "Health – Contraceptive, Indian Style". Chatelaine . June 1964.
^ Amer. J. Bot. 74(11): 1690-1693. 1987. A Fossil Lithospermum (Boraginaceae) from the Tertiary of South Dakota by Mark L. Gabel
External links