Turnera subulata explained

Turnera subulata is a species of flowering subshrub in the passionflower family known by the common names white buttercup, sulphur alder, politician's flower, dark-eyed turnera,[1] and white alder.[1] [2] Despite its names, it is not related to the buttercups or the alders. It is native to Central and South America, from Panama south to Brazil. It is well known in many other places as an introduced species, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, several other Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, and Florida in the United States.

It is commonly cultivated as a garden flower, but because of its high adaptability, it is also known as a garden weed.

Growth

This plant is a perennial herb growing from a thick taproot and woody stem base. It reaches a maximum height around 80cm (30inches). The leaves are roughly oval in shape with toothed edges. The undersides are glandular and coated in white hairs. The upper surfaces may be somewhat hairy, as well. The leaves are up to 9cm (04inches) long.[2]

Flower

Flowers occur in the leaf axils, borne in calyces of hairy, glandular sepals. The flowers are a disc- to funnel-shape, and the petals are rounded to oval, the longest exceeding 3cm (01inches).[2] They are white or yellowish with darker bases.[1] The dark patches at the bases are nectar guides.[3] The center of the flower is rough, feeling like a cat's tongue.[1] The flowers grow year round, and they tend to open in the early morning and close at about 11 a.m.

The plant is pollinated by a variety of insects. A common pollinator is the bee species Protomeliturga turnerae which prefers only its nectar and depend completely on it for reproduction. The male bee builds his territory around the plant, for example. Other insects observed at the plant include many other bee species, such as Trigona spinipes, Frieseomelitta doederleinii, and Plebeia flavocinta, butterflies such as Nisoniades macarius and Urbanus dorantes, and the beetle Pristimerus calcaratus.[3]

Fruit and seeds

The fruit is a hairy capsule containing seeds with white arils.[2] The seeds are dispersed by ants, who are likely attracted to their high lipid content.[4]

Appearance

Like most other Turnera,[3] this species is heterostylous, with two morphs. The "pin" morph has long styles in its flowers, while the "thrum" morph has short styles. Both morphs produce the same amount of pollen. One study reported that during pollination, pin flowers receive more pollen from thrum flowers than from other pin flowers.[5] The genes that cause this dimorphism in style size are the subject of current research. So far, it has been established that short styles contain proteins, polygalacturonases, that are absent in long styles.[6]

Traditional medicine

This plant, like other plants of the Turnera genus,[7] is wildly used in traditional medicine[8] for centuries,[9] mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. In South America, its leaf extract is used to treat many conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, tumors, influenza, chronic pain and inflamation.[10] It is mainly used in the northeastern region of Brazil, where it is also used to treat amenorrhea and dysmenrrhea, being consumed as tea or infusions.[11]

While little is known about its medicinal proprieties, the species has shown antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflamatory effects in tests, as well as modulating the effects of some drugs.[12]

Notes and References

  1. News: Yim . Elaine . What's up, buttercup? . April 28, 2012 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20120504033747/https://www.nst.com.my/life-times/live/what-s-up-buttercup-1.78402 . 4 May 2012.
  2. Web site: Turnera subulata . 1999 . Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk . US Forest Service . 21 May 2013.
  3. Schlindwein . Clemens . Medeiros . Petrúcio C.R. . 2006 . Pollination in Turnera subulata (Turneraceae): Unilateral reproductive dependence of the narrowly oligolectic bee Protomeliturga turnerae (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae) . Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants . 201 . 3 . 178–188 . 10.1016/j.flora.2005.07.002 . 2006FMDFE.201..178S .
  4. Book: Simberloff . D. . Rejmanek . M. . 2010 . Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions . Berkeley, California, USA . University of California Press . 589 . 978-0-520-26421-2.
  5. 2433990. Swamy. N. Rama. Bahadur. Bir. Pollen Flow in Dimorphic Turnera subulata (Turneraceae). The New Phytologist. 1984. 98. 1. 205–209. 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1984.tb06109.x. 29681115.
  6. 10.3732/ajb.90.5.675. Characterization and localization of short-specific polygalacturonase in distylous Turnera subulata (Turneraceae). 2003. Athanasiou. A.. Khosravi. D.. Tamari. F.. Shore. J. S.. American Journal of Botany. 90. 5. 675–682. 21659162. free.
  7. Luz . Jefferson Romáryo Duarte da . Barbosa . Eder A. . Nascimento . Thayse Evellyn Silva do . Rezende . Adriana Augusto de . Ururahy . Marcela Abbott Galvão . Brito . Adriana da Silva . Araujo-Silva . Gabriel . López . Jorge A. . Almeida . Maria das Graças . 2022-02-06 . Chemical Characterization of Flowers and Leaf Extracts Obtained from Turnera subulata and Their Immunomodulatory Effect on LPS-Activated RAW 264.7 Macrophages . Molecules . en . 27 . 3 . 1084 . 10.3390/molecules27031084 . free . 1420-3049 . 8839466 . 35164352.
  8. 10.1590/S0102-695X2007000300016. Estudo farmacobotânico comparativo de folhas de Turnera chamaedrifolia Cambess. E Turnera subulata Sm. (Turneraceae). 2007. Barbosa. Danila de Araújo. Silva. Kiriaki Nurit. Agra. Maria de Fátima. Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia. 17. 3. 396–413. free.
  9. Saravanan . Mythili . Senthilkumar . Palanisamy . Kalimuthu . Kandasamy . Chinnadurai . Vajjiram . Vasantharaj . Seerangaraj . Pugazhendhi . Arivalagan . Phytochemical and pharmacological profiling of Turnera subulata Sm., a vital medicinal herb . Industrial Crops and Products . 2018 . en . 124 . 822–833 . 10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.08.065.
  10. Souza . Natália Cabral . de Oliveira . Juliana Medeiros . Morrone . Maurílio da Silva . Albanus . Ricardo D'Oliveira . Amarante . Maria do Socorro Medeiros . Camillo . Christina da Silva . Langassner . Silvana Maria Zucolotto . Gelain . Daniel Pens . Moreira . José Cláudio Fonseca . Dalmolin . Rodrigo Juliani Siqueira . de Bittencourt Pasquali . Matheus Augusto . October 2016 . Turnera subulata Anti-Inflammatory Properties in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated RAW 264.7 Macrophages . Journal of Medicinal Food . en . 19 . 10 . 922–930 . 10.1089/jmf.2016.0047 . 2027.42/140112 . 1096-620X. free .
  11. Costa . Maria Eduarda Moreira da . 2023 . REVISÃO BIBLIOGRÁFICA DO PERFIL FITOQUÍMICO E ATIVIDADES BIOLÓGICAS DA Turnera subulata SM . Revista Biodiversidade . 22 . 2 . 141–148.
  12. Andrade-Pinheiro . Jacqueline Cosmo . Sobral de Souza . Celestina Elba . Ribeiro . Daiany Alves . Silva . Andressa de Alencar . da Silva . Viviane Bezerra . dos Santos . Antonia Thassya Lucas . Juno Alencar Fonseca . Victor . de Macêdo . Delmacia Gonçalves . da Cruz . Rafael Pereira . Almeida-Bezerra . José Weverton . Machado . Antonio Júdson Targino . de Freitas . Thiago Sampaio . de Brito . Edy Sousa . Ribeiro . Paulo Riceli Vasconcelos . da Costa . José Galberto Martins . 2023-01-16 . LC-MS Analysis and Antifungal Activity of Turnera subulata Sm. . Plants . en . 12 . 2 . 415 . 10.3390/plants12020415 . free . 2223-7747. 9862381 .

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