Tabernaemontana Explained

Tabernaemontana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. It has a pan-tropical distribution, found in Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and a wide assortment of oceanic islands.^[1] These plants are evergreen shrubs and small trees growing to 1–15 m tall. The leaves are opposite, 3–25 cm long, with milky sap; hence it is one of the diverse plant genera commonly called "milkwood". The flowers are fragrant, white, 1–5 cm in diameter.

The cultivar T. divaricata cv. 'Plena', with doubled-petaled flowers, is a popular houseplant.

Some members of the genus Tabernaemontana are used as additives to some versions of the psychedelic drink ayahuasca;^[2] the genus is known to contain ibogaine (e.g. in bëcchëte, T. undulata), conolidine (present in minor concentration in T. divaricata)^[3] and voacangine (T. alba, T. arborea, T. africana). Because of presence of coronaridine and voacangine in Mexican Tabernaemontana species,^[4] those plant could be used in economic production of anti-addictive alkaloids especially ibogaine and ibogamine.^[5] T. sananho preparations are used in native medicine to treat eye injuries and as an anxiolytic, and T. heterophylla is used to treat dementia in the elderly.^[6] Conolidine may be developed as a new class of pain killer.^[7] Caterpillars of the oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) have been found to feed on the pinwheelflower (T. divaricata).

Taxonomy

PublicationThe genus was described by Carl Linnaeus and published in Species Plantarum 1: 210–211 in 1753. The type species is T. citrifolia.

EtymologyThe genus name commemorates the "father of German botany" Jakob Theodor von Bergzabern, a.k.a. Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus, Tabernaemontanus being a compressed form of the original Medieval Latin name (Tabernae Montanus) of the botanist's home town of Bergzabern - both the Latin and the German forms of the town's name meaning "tavern(s) in the mountains".

Species

See also

• Psychedelic plants
• Compounds found in Tabernaemontana
  • Affinisine
  • Affinine

References

• (1995): In: Ayahuasca Analogues: Pangaean Entheogens.
• (2006): Plants with possible psychoactive effects used by the Krahô Indians, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria 28(4): 277–282. PDF fulltext

Notes and References

1. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=132175 Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 152 狗牙花属 gou ya hua shu Tabernaemontana Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 210. 1753.
2. Ott (1995)
3. 10.1002/cbdv.200490056 . Biologically Active Ibogan and Vallesamine Derivatives from Tabernaemontana divaricata . 2004 . Kam . Toh-Seok . Pang . Huey-Shen . Choo . Yeun-Mun . Komiyama . Kanki . Chemistry & Biodiversity . 1 . 4 . 646–656 . 17191876 . 12805328 .
4. Krengel F, Herrera Santoyo J, Olivera Flores TJ, Chávez Ávila VM, Pérez Flores FJ, Reyes Chilpa R . Quantification of Anti-Addictive Alkaloids Ibogaine and Voacangine in In Vivo- and In Vitro-Grown Plants of Two Mexican Tabernaemontana Species . . 13 . 12 . 1730–1737 . December 2016 . 27448833 . 10.1002/cbdv.201600146 . 46046257 .
5. Krengel F, Chevalier Q, Dickinson J, Herrera Santoyo J, Reyes Chilpa R . Metabolite Profiling of Anti-Addictive Alkaloids from Four Mexican Tabernaemontana Species and the Entheogenic African Shrub Tabernanthe iboga (Apocynaceae) . . 16 . 4 . e1800506 . April 2019 . 30618175 . 10.1002/cbdv.201800506 . 58612529 .
6. Rodrigues & Carlini (2006)
7. Web site: Scientists create new type of painkiller. . 23 May 2011.