Schoenocaulon

Schoenocaulon is a North American genus of perennial herbaceous flowering plants, ranging from the southern United States to Peru.[3] It is a member of the Melanthiaceae, according to the APG III classification system, and is placed in the tribe Melanthieae. Unlike other genera in the tribe, the flowers are arranged in a spike; depending on the species the flower stalks for each flower are either very short or completely absent.[4] Feathershank is a common name,[5] the medicinally used S. officinale is called Sabadilla (pronunciation: /sab-uh-dil-uh/, IPA: /ˌsæb əˈdɪl ə/).

Schoenocaulon
Schoenocaulon officinale[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Tribe: Melanthieae
Genus: Schoenocaulon
A.Gray
Synonyms[2]
  • Sabadilla Brandt & Ratzeb.
  • Skoinolon Raf.
  • Asagraea Lindl.

Plants generally grow in chaparral, oak, or pine forests. Grazing has narrowed the natural ranges of some species to only steep, rocky terrain.[6] Mexico is the center of Schoenocaulon diversity, with 22 endemic species - some with distributions limited to single mountain ranges.[4] The two species with the widest distributions, S. yucatanense (sometimes treated as part of S. ghiesbreghtii) and S. officinale (sabadilla), may have been spread by pre-Columbians who used the seeds as pesticides.[4]

The petal and sepal color varies by species, with some shade of green being most common, but with maroon, cream, and bright red also represented.[4]

species[2]

References
  1. 1897 illustration from Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. Zomlefer, Wendy B.; Judd, Walter S. (2008). "Two New Species of Schoenocaulon (Liliales: Melanthiaceae) from Mexico Supported by ITS Sequence Data". Systematic Botany. 33 (1): 117–124. doi:10.1600/036364408783887474. S2CID 86685454.
  4. Zomlefer, Wendy B.; Whitten, W. Mark; Williams, Norris H.; Judd, Walter S. (2006), "Infrageneric phylogeny of Schoenocaulon (Liliales: Melanthiaceae) with clarification of cryptic species based on ITS sequence data and geographical distribution", American Journal of Botany, 93 (8): 1178–1192, doi:10.3732/ajb.93.8.1178, PMID 21642183
  5. "Schoenocaulon". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  6. Frame, D. 1990. A revision of Schoenocaulon (Liliaceae: Melanthieae). Ph. D. Thesis. The City University of New York. New York. 269 pp.


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