Ixora coccinea

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Ixora coccinea
Ixora coccinea

Ixora coccinea

Systematics
Order : Enzianartige (Gentianales)
Family : Red family (Rubiaceae)
Subfamily : Ixoroideae
Tribe : Ixoreae
Genre : Ixora
Type : Ixora coccinea
Scientific name
Ixora coccinea
L.

Ixora coccinea sometimes called Maltese cross flower is a species of the genus Ixora within the plant family of the Rubiaceae (Rubiaceae).

description

Illustration from Blanco
Four-fold bloom in detail
ripe fruits

Appearance and leaf

Ixora coccinea is an evergreen shrub that reaches heights of up to 1 meter. The cross-opposite leaves are usually sitting. The leathery, bare, entire leaf blades are 4 to 8 inches long and 1.5 to 6.5 inches wide and can be blunt, pointed or pointed. The stipules are triangular with a pointed, awned upper end.

Inflorescence and flower

Zymous inflorescences are formed at the end of the trunk , which can contain a large number of flowers. The flower stalks are very short or absent.

The hermaphrodite flowers are four-fold with a double flower envelope . The sepals are about 8 millimeters long. The scarlet petals are fused together like a salver. The 2.5 to 4 centimeters long, slim corolla tube is bare inside. The corolla lobes overlap convolutely in the flower bud and spread out during the anthesis . There are four stamens in the corolla tube . The thread-like stylus is spindle-shaped to club-shaped in the upper area and ends in two linear, curved back scars that protrude (slightly) over the crown.

Fruit and seeds

The spherical drupes are covered by the durable sepals. The red stone fruits when ripe contain two plano-convex stone cores with one seed each.

Chromosome set

Ixora coccinea is diploid with chromosome number 2n = 22.

distribution

Ixora coccinea is native to an area from India , Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to Indochina, but is widespread as a neophyte throughout the tropics.

Taxonomy

Ixora coccinea was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné . The genus name Ixora is the Portuguese version of Iswari, a name of the Indian goddess Parvati , to whom the flowers of Ixora coccinea are sacrificed. The specific epithet coccinea is Latin and means scarlet red. Synonyms for Ixora coccinea L. are: Ixora bandhuca Roxb. , Ixora grandiflora Ker Gawl. , Ixora incarnata Roxb. ex Sm. , Pavetta bandhuca Miq.

Cut as a hedge

Use as an ornamental plant

Varieties of Ixora coccinea are popular ornamental plants in tropical to subtropical parks and gardens. It blooms all year round. It is suitable for both hedges and dwarf forms. There are numerous cultivars, including those with yellow, pink or orange flowers.

Ingredients and medical significance

Ixora coccinea plays an important role in Ayurveda . In traditional Indian medicine the roots are u. a. used against diarrhea, dysentery , gonorrhea , loss of appetite and chronic stomach ulcers . With the flowers u. a. Menstrual cramps and chronic bronchitis are treated, an infusion of flowers and bark is used in ophthalmic medicine. Preclinical studies have shown that Ixora coccinea has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-ulcer, anti- diarrhea and anti-mutagen effects, as well as being lipid-lowering and protecting the liver.

A number of studies show that Ixora coccinea contains important active ingredients, including: a. Lupeol , ursolic acid , oleanolic acid , sitosterol , rutin , leucocyanidin , anthocyanins , and glycosides of kaempferol and quercetin .

swell

  • S. Nazimuddin, M. Qaiser: Rubiaceae. : Ixora coccinea at Tropicos.org. In: Flora of Pakistan . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Volume 190, University of Karachi, Department of Botany, Karachi, 1989. (Description and Taxonomy Sections)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ixora coccinea at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  2. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Ixora coccinea. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b Ixora coccinea at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed October 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Birkhäuser, Basel / Boston / Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-7643-2390-6 .
  5. ↑ a b AB Joshi, PM Surlikar, M. Bhobe: Ixora coccinea Linn Phytochemical investigation. In: International Journal of Research in Pharmacy and Chemistry. Volume 3, 3, 2013, pp. 691-696 ( PDF ).
  6. ↑ MS Baliga, PJ Kurian: Ixora Coccinea: Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology. In: Chin. J. Integr. Med. Volume 18, 2012, pp. 72-79.
  7. ↑ S. Dontha, H. Kamurthy, B. Mantripragada: Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Ixora: a review. In: International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. 2015, Volume 6, 2, pp. 567-584. DOI: 10.13040 / IJPSR.0975-8232.6 (2) .567-84

Web links

Commons : Ixora coccinea  - collection of images, videos and audio files