Boophone


Boophone is a small genus of herbaceous, perennial and bulbous plants in the Amaryllis family It consists of two confirmed species distributed across South Africa to Kenya and Uganda. It is closely related to Crossyne, a genus whose species have prostrate leaves. They are drought tolerant but not cold-hardy, and are very poisonous to livestock.

Taxonomy

Boophone is the single genus in subtribe Boophoninae, in the Amaryllideae tribe.

Phylogeny

Boophoninae are placed within Amaryllideae as follows, based on their phylogenetic relationship:

Species

The list of Boophone species, with their complete scientific name, authority, and geographic distribution is given below.
FlowersPlantScientific nameDistribution
Boophone disticha From Sudan to South Africa
Boophone haemanthoides Leight.From Namibia to the Western Cape Province

Etymology

wrote the name of this genus with three different orthographies: "Boophane" in 1821; "Buphane" and "Buphone" in 1825, and he conserved "Boophone" in 1837. Several authors since then speculated about the etymology and associated orthography of each name, but a proposal was published in 2001 to conserve the first name and to take the later ones as synonyms. This proposal was accepted in 2002.

Associated insects

Larvae of the moth genera Brithys and Diaphone use Boophone as a food plant.

Traditional medicine

Boophone disticha is used in South African traditional medicine by the Zulus to induce hallucinations for divinatory purposes, and also for various mental illnesses. Its use, however, is limited by injuries that result from the plant's toxicity. They have also been used as ingredients in traditional arrow poisons, and medicinal dressings for skin lesions.

Chemistry

A variety of alkaloids with affinity for the serotonin transporter have been isolated from Boophone disticha.