Biology:Quillajaceae

From HandWiki

Quillajaceae, the soapbark family,[1] is a family of flowering plants. It contains a single extant genus Quillaja, containing only two species,[2] and one fossil species, Dakotanthus cordiformis.[3]

Quillaja brasiliensis tree, focused on a flower and some leaves.
Quillaja brasiliensis in Botanischen Garten München

Description

Two pictures of Quillaja saponaria, one with closed, green, star-shaped capsules and one with open, dry and brown star shaped capsules.
Capsules of the Quillaja saponaria. Fresh and closed on the left, open and dehiscent on the right.

Quillajaceae are saponin-producing trees with bisexual flowers. Their leaves tend to be simple and alternating. Inflorescences are in cymes. Flowers are varied among the species, but tend to have parts of five. Each whorl is distinct and unfused, notably having 5 apocarpous carpels. The fruits are loculicidal capsules, forming a star shape and dehiscing to release the seeds.[3][4]

Etymology

Both the family name Quillajaceae and the genus Quillaja are derived from the Mapuche word "quillean" which means "to wash." This is likely because of its saponin production, which is harvested to make soaps.[5]

Range

Species in the genus Quillaja are found in Southern America, with Q. saponaria found in central Chile and Q. brasiliensis found in southern Brazil as well as bordering countries.[6] Fossils from the extinct species Dakotanthus cordiformis have been found in Kansas and Nebraska.[3]

Uses

Plants in the Quillajaceae family produce saponins, which are extracted from the bark or leaves. Saponin are used in many things, such as soap, cosmetics, and emulsions of vaccines.[7][5]

Phylogeny

Quillaja, the only genus in this family, was originally in the Rosaceae family, but recent molecular data instead placed it in its own family, Quillajaceae, under the order Fabales instead. [8]

References

  1. "Definition of SOAPBARK" (in en). 2024-09-23. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soapbark. 
  2. Watson, L.; Dallwitz, M.J. (2019-12-28). "Quillajaceae D. Don". https://www.delta-intkey.com/angio/www/quillaja.htm. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Manchester, Steven R.; Dilcher, David L.; Judd, Walter S.; Corder, Brandon; Basinger, James F. (2018-06-01). "Early Eudicot flower and fruit: Dakotanthus gen. nov. from the Cretaceous Dakota Formation of Kansas and Nebraska, USA" (in en). Acta Palaeobotanica 58 (1): 27–40. doi:10.2478/acpa-2018-0006. ISSN 2082-0259. 
  4. Bello, M. A.; Hawkins, J. A.; Rudall, P. J. (2008). "Floral morphology and development in Quillajaceae and Surianaceae (Fabales), the species-poor relatives of Leguminosae and Polygalaceae". Annals of Botany 101 (9): 1433, 1491–1505. doi:10.1093/aob/mcn073. ISSN 1095-8290. PMID 18494144. PMC 2710263. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2710263/. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Freire, Ageu da Silva Monteiro; Chagas, Kyvia Pontes Teixeira das; Lucas, Fernanda Moura Fonseca; Milani, Jaçanan Eloisa de Freitas; Cademartori, Pedro Henrique Gonzalez de; Blum, Christopher Thomas (2024-12-01). "Overview of saponin-producing species of Quillajaceae from a global perspective". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 117. doi:10.1016/j.bse.2024.104919. ISSN 0305-1978. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305197824001376. 
  6. Luebert, Federico (2014). "Taxonomy and distribution of the genus Quillaja Molina (Quillajaceae)". Feddes Repertorium, Journal of Botanical Taxonomy and Geobotany 124 (4): 157-162. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fedr.201400029. 
  7. Guerra, Fernando; Sepúlveda, Sebastián (2021). "Saponin production from Quillaja genus species. An insight into its applications and biology" (in en). Scientia Agricola 78: e20190305. doi:10.1590/1678-992X-2019-0305. ISSN 1678-992X. https://www.scielo.br/j/sa/a/BdqrRw4LgvxnkQGPnYTCnDb/?format=html&lang=en. 
  8. Luebert, Federico (2013). "Taxonomy and distribution of the genus Quillaja Molina (Quillajaceae)" (in en). Feddes Repertorium 124 (4): 157–162. doi:10.1002/fedr.201400029. ISSN 0014-8962. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fedr.201400029. 

Wikidata ☰ Q13634380 entry