Biology:Withania

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Short description: Genus of flowering plants

Withania
Withania somnifera, blom, Manie van der Schijff BT.jpg
Withania somnifera
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Physaleae
Genus: Withania
Pauquy, 1825
Species

See text

Synonyms

Alicabon Raf.
Archiphysalis Kuang
Manoelia Bowdich
Opsago Raf.
Physaliastrum Makino
Physaloides Moench
Puneeria Stocks

Withania is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands.[1][2] Withania was initially included within Physalis by Linnaeus in 1753 but has since become its own genus.[3] This grouping was due to the shared feature of an inflated Calyx that surrounds and protects the fruit.

Two of the species, W. somnifera (ashwagandha) and W. coagulans (ashutosh booti), are economically significant, and are cultivated in several regions for their medicinal uses.[1]

Etymology

Withania is thought to have been named in honour of Henry Witham, a British geologist and writer on fossil botany beginning in 1830.[4]

Selected species

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Mirjalili, M. H.; Moyano, E.; Bonfill, M.; Cusido, R. M.; Palazón, J. (2009). "Steroidal Lactones from Withania somnifera, an Ancient Plant for Novel Medicine". Molecules 14 (7): 2373–2393. doi:10.3390/molecules14072373. PMID 19633611. 
  2. {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Withania somnifera | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?102407 | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = 2015-02-03 }}
  3. Rydberg, Per Axel (1896). "The North American Species of Physalis and related Genera". Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 4 (5): 297–374. ISSN 0097-3807. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43391911. 
  4. "Withania". Electronic Flora of South Australia. Government of South Australia, Department of Environment and Natural Resources. http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/efsa/lucid/Solanaceae/Solanaceae%20species/key/Australian%20Solanaceae%20species/Media/Html/Withania.htm. 
  5. "Withania coagulans (Stocks) Dunal". Flora of Pakistan. eFlora.org. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=242426281. 
  6. {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Withania coagulans | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?102409 | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = 19 January 2018 }}
  7. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=withania. 

Wikidata ☰ Q310998 entry