Leontodon Explained

Leontodon is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae, commonly known as hawkbits.

Their English name derives from the mediaeval belief that hawks ate the plant to improve their eyesight. Although originally only native to Eurasia and North Africa, some species have since become established in other countries, including the United States and New Zealand.

Recent research has shown that the genus Leontodon in the traditional delimitation is polyphyletic. Therefore, the former Leontodon subgenus Oporinia was raised to generic level. According to the nomenclatural rules the name Scorzoneroides has priority at generic level and therefore, the members of Leontodon subgenus Oporinia were transferred to the re-erected genus Scorzoneroides.

Ecology

Seeds of Leontodon species are an important food source for certain bird species.^[1]

Uses

In Crete, the roots of the species Leontodon tuberosus are eaten raw and its leaves are eaten steamed.^[2]

Secondary metabolites

The genus Leontodon s.str. (i.e. excluding the members of the resurrected genus Scorzoneroides) is a rich source of hypocretenolides, unique guaiane type sesquiterpene lactones with a 12,5-lactone ring instead of the usual 12,6 lactone ring.^[3]

Phenolics found in Leontodon species include luteolin type flavonoids and caffeoyl quinic acid derivatives such as chlorogenic acid and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid. Moreover, Leontodon species contain the caffeoyl tartaric acid derivatives caffeoyl tartaric acid and cichoric acid.^{[4] [5]}

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Leontodon:^[6]

• Leontodon albanicus
• Leontodon anomalus
• Leontodon apulus
• Leontodon asperrimus
• Leontodon balansae
• Leontodon berinii
• Leontodon biscutellifolius
• Leontodon boryi
• Leontodon bourgaeanus
• Leontodon caroliaedoi
• Leontodon × carreiroi
• Leontodon caucasicus
• Leontodon crispus
• Leontodon djurdjurae
• Leontodon dubius
• Leontodon eriopodus
• Leontodon farinosus
• Leontodon filii
• Leontodon × friasi
• Leontodon graecus
• Leontodon × grassiorum
• Leontodon hellenicus
• Leontodon hirtus
• Leontodon hispidus
• Leontodon hochstetteri
• Leontodon hyoseroides
• Leontodon incanus
• Leontodon intermedius
• Leontodon kotschyi
• Leontodon kulczynskii
• Leontodon libanoticus
• Leontodon longirostris
• Leontodon maroccanus
• Leontodon oxylepis
• Leontodon pinetorum
• Leontodon pitardii
• Leontodon rigens
• Leontodon rosanoi
• Leontodon saxatilis
• Leontodon siculus
• Leontodon stenocalathius
• Leontodon tenuiflorus
• Leontodon tingitanus
• Leontodon tuberosus
• Leontodon × vegetus

Further reading

• Euro+Med Plantbase
• Book: Battandier, J. A.. L. Trabut . Flore de l'Algérie et de la Tunisie . Alger. 1902 .
• Book: Blatter, E. . Flora Arabica II: Leguminosae-Compositae . Calcutta. 1921 .
• Book: Boulos, L. . Flora of Egypt . Cairo. 2002 .
• Book: Danin, A. . Distribution atlas of plants in the Flora Palaestina area . Jerusalem. 2004 .
• Book: Davis, P. . Flora of Turkey Vol. 5. Edinburgh. 1975 .
• Book: Finch, R. A.. P. D. Sell . Leontodon L. . Tutin, T. G. . Heywood, V. H. . Burges, N. A. . Moore, D. M. . Valentine, D. H. . Walters S. M. . Webb D. A. . Flora Europaea . 4. Cambridge. 1976 .
• Book: Jafri, S.M.H.. A. El-Gadi . Flora of Libya . Tripoli. 1983 .
• Book: [[Émile Jahandiez|Jahandiez]], E.. R. Maire . Catalogue des plantes du Maroc. . 3 . Alger. 1934.
• Book: Moutérde, P. . Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie . Beyrouth. 1983 .
• Book: Pittoni, H. . Leontodon . K. H. Rechinger . Flora Iranica . 122 . Graz. 1977 .
• Book: Quézel, P.. S. Santa . Nouvelle flore de l'Algérie et des régions désertiques méridionales . Paris. 1963 .
• Book: Rechinger, K. H. . Flora of lowland Iraq. Weinheim. 1964 .
• Book: Vassilev, V. N. . Leontodon. In Bobrov, E. G. & Tzevelev, N. N. Flora of the USSR 29: Compositae, Cichorieae, pages 204-218 . Enfield. 2000 .
• 1975 . Widder, F.J. . Die Gliederung der Gattung Leontodon . 17 . 23–29 . 0079-2047. Phyton (Horn, Austria).
• 2012 . Zidorn, C. . Leontodon and Scorzoneroides (Asteraceae, Cichorieae) in Italy . 146 . Suppl. 1. 41–51 . 1126-3504. Plant Biosystems . Taylor & Francis . 10.1080/11263504.2012.710272. 2012PBios.146S..41Z . 86770322 .
• Book: Zohary, M. . Flora Palaestina Vol. 3 . Jerusalem. 1978 .

Notes and References

1. Animal Science. 2005. 81. 199–203. The influence of livestock management on habitat quality for farmland birds. D. L. Buckingham. W. J. Peach. 2 . 10.1079/asc50700199.
2. Book: Kleonikos G. Stavridakis . Κλεόνικος Γ. Σταυριδάκης . Wild edible plants of Crete - Η Άγρια βρώσιμη χλωρίδα της Κρήτης . Rethymnon Crete . 2006 . 960-631-179-1.
3. 2008 . Zidorn, C. . Sesquiterpene lactones and their precursors as chemosystematic markers in the tribe Cichorieae of the Asteraceae . 69 . 2270–2296 . 0031-9422 . Phytochemistry . 12 . 10.1016/j.phytochem.2008.06.013 . 18715600. 2008PChem..69.2270Z .
4. 2001 . Zidorn, C. . Stuppner, H. . Evaluation of chemosystematic characters in the genus Leontodon . 50 . 115–133 . 0040-0262 . Taxon . 10.2307/1224515. 1224515 . free .
5. 2010 . Sareedenchai, V. . Zidorn, C. . Flavonoids as chemosystematic markers in the tribe Cichorieae of the Asteraceae . 38 . 935–957 . 0305-1978 . Biochemical Systematics and Ecology . 5 . 10.1016/j.bse.2009.09.006. 2010BioSE..38..935S .
6. Web site: Leontodon L. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2023-11-14 . Plants of the World Online . en.