AMARYLLIDACEAE

Amaryllis Family Country Girl Ma-an Jane Diamos 2010-09049

First described by Jean Henri Jaume St. Hilaire in 1805, the family is named after Amaryllis, a pretty shepherdess mentioned by Theocritus, Virgil and Ovid. Close relatives are Alliaceae (the onion family) and Agapanthaceae (the agapanthus family). 63 genera (www.philippineplants.org)

TAXONOMY
Kingdom Plantae Division Magnoliophyta Class Liliopsida Subclass Liliidae Order Asparagales Family Amaryllidaceae

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS
Perennial, bulbous herbs with an umbellate inflorescence and an inferior ovary. P3+3 or (3+3) A3+3 or (3+3) [3-18] G(3), inferior, hypanthium present With 6 petaloid tepals, 6 stamens Leaves alternate, basal, simple and sheathing Fruits capsules or berries. Inflorescence usually raises in an umbelloid cyme. Seed coat usually has a black or blue crust (phytomelan)

Terrestrial, rarely aquatic or epiphytic, perennial herbs Stems are bulbs, covered by membranous leaf bases, the tunica Leaves simple, undivided, spiral or distichous, sheathing or not, sessile or petiolate, and parallel veined Inflorescence a terminal, scapose umbel (derived from condensed, monochasial cymes, sometimes termed a pseudo-umbel), rarely of solitary flowers, with bracts present, enclosing the flower buds Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, or zygomorphic, pedicellate or sessile, bracteates, epigynous to epiperigynous Perianth biseriate, homochlamydeous, trimerous, apopetalous or syntepalous, and forming a short to long hypanthial tube, sometimes with a perianth corona (e.g. Narcissus)

Stamens generally biseriate, 3+3 [3 18], distinct or connate, forming a stamina corona in some (e.g. Hymenocallis) Anthers usually dorsifixed, longitudinal (rarely poricidal), and introrse in dehiscence Gynoecium syncarpous, with an inferior ovary, 3 carpels, and 3 [1] locules Placentation axile or basal Ovules anatropous, bitegmic, unitegmic, or ategmic. Fruit a loculicidal capsule or rarely a berry Seeds phytomelaniferous

ENDEMIC EXAMPLES
Genera 59, species about 850 in all warm countries, 11 genera and about 15 species in the Philippines, mostly introduced (Elmer Merill, A Flora of Manila) Crinum L., Curculigo Gaertner, Hymenocallis Salisbury, Pancratium L., Proiphys Herb. (Cos Digital Flora of the Philippines)

Crinum asiaticum Spider lily

Curculigo latifolia Lemba

Crinum asiaticum- Spider Lily- LUZON, MINDORO, PALAWAN, MINDANAO. Along sandy seashores, sometimes planted inland. Crinum gracile-Type: Cuming 1382. Sumatra (Palembang), Philippines, New Guinea. LUZON: Nueva Ecija, Laguna, MINDORO, MINDANAO. Primary lowland forests. Curculigo latifolia-Philippines, Sulawesi. LUZON: Sorsogon, PALAWAN, BALABAC, PANAY, SAMAR, MINDANAO: Zamboanga; Lanao del Sur, Agusan del Norte (Mt Hilong-hilong). Lowland and medium altitude forests.

Crinum zeylanicum Lilio/ Liryo

Crinum latifolium Pink-striped trumpet lily (Liryo)

Crinum latifolium L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 291; --Merr., Fl. Manila (1912) 148; EPFP 1 (1922) 210; --Steiner, Philip. Ornam. Pl. (1960) 137; --Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 361. Native to tropical Asia. Cultivated as an ornamental and perhaps escaped. Crinum zeylanicum L., Syst. ed. 12 (1767) 236; -Merr., Fl. Manila (1912) 148; EPFP 1 (1922) 211; -Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 361. Native to tropical Africa and Asia. Cultivated as an ornamental and subnaturalized (non-Philippine)

Curculigo capitulata Palm grass

Curculigo orchioides Orchid Palm Grass

Curculigo capitulata- BATANES, LUZON: Mountain Province, Benguet, Laguna, Quezon, Sorsogon, POLILLO, ALABAT, MINDORO, NEGROS, BILIRAN, LEYTE, PANAY, MINDANAO, SIARGAO. Forests and thickets, cheifly at low and medium altitudes, ascending to 1800m. Curculigo orchioides- LUZON: Mountain Province, Pangasinan, Rizal, Sorsogon, MINDORO, SEMIRARA, PALAWAN, PANAY, BILIRAN, SAMAR, MINDANAO. Low to medium altitude grasslands, particularly kogonales type.

Hymenocallis littoralis Daffodil

Hypoxis aurea Golden star grass

Hymenocallis littoralis (Jacq.) Salisb., Trans. Hort. Soc. 1 (1812) 338; --Merr., EPFP 1 (1922) 211; --Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 362. --Type from West Indies. S to C America. Cultivated and naturalized in tropical Africa, tropical Asia and the Pacific Islands. Bismarck Archipelago, Java, Philippines: LUZON. Cultivated around towns, occasional in waste places, along seashores and in moist sandy places at low altitudes. Hypoxis aurea Lour., Fl. Cochinch. (1790) 200; --Merr., EPFP 1 (1922) 214; --Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 370, f. 6. --Type from Vietnam . China, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, Philippines, Sulawesi, Flores, New Guinea (Irian Jaya). LUZON: Mountain Province, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, MINDANAO: Lanao, Bukidnon. Grassland and other sunny places, medium and higher altitudes, ascending to 2300m.

Pancratium zeylanicum Rain flower

Proiphys amboinensis Cardwell Lily

Pancratium zeylanicum L., Sp. Pl. (1753) 290; -Merr., Fl. Manila (1912) 148; EPFP 1 (1922) 212; -Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 363, Fig. 2. -Type: Probably from Sri Lanka, but perhaps of garden origin. India, Sri Lanka, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo (Pandaran), Java, Philippines (introduced), Sulawesi and Moluccas (Ambon, Gorontala). LUZON: La Union, Camarines, PALAWAN, BILIRAN. Coconut and abaca plantations, grasslands, thickets, also cultivated in gardens, altitude up to 600m altitude.

Proiphys amboinensis (L.) Herbert, Appendix (1821) 42; --Geerinck, Fl. Males. ser. 1, 11 (1993) 366, Fig. 3, 4a-b; --Eurycles amboinensis (L.) Lindl. in Loud. Encycl. Pl. (1829) 242; --Merr., Fl. Manila (1912) 149; EPFP 1 (1922) 211. Thailand, Philippines, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda Isls (Bali, Timor), Moluccas (Ambon), New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago. LUZON: Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, MINDORO, PALAWAN. Seashores and rocky places, lowland secondary forests, often cultivated as an ornamental, apparently never far from human settlements and hence possibly introduced. Eurycles Salisbury = Proiphys

SIGNIFICANCE
Cultivated ornamentals, such as Amaryllis (belladonna-lily), Crinum, Galanthus (snowdrop), Hippeastrum (amaryllis), Leucojum (snowflake), Lycoris (spider lily), and Narcissus (daffodil) Used by indigenous peoples for medicinal, flavouring, psychotropic, or other purposes Bulbs and fruit of some species reported toxic to stock and humans if eaten

Bulbs and leaves of Crinum are useful in herbal medicines. Prostatitis, adenoma, benign prostate enlargement, uterine fibroids etc Used to enhance cell-mediated immunity and acts as an effective T-lymphocyte activator. Used in cases of hypoxia, inflammation, detoxification, tissue regeneration, and hormone balancing Leaf juice is used for earache, rheumatic pain, and sprain Bulbs are used to induce vomiting.

The present invention relates to Curculigo latifolia (C.latifolia) extracts, wherein the extracts extracted from different parts of a plant such as fruits, roots and leaves, individually and in any combination thereof, characterized in that the extracts are used as an agent for treating and preventing metabolic disorder disease such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, cardiovascular, and atherosclerosis -UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia)

REFERENCES
Merill, E.D. (1912). A flora of manila. Manila: Bureau of Printing. Simpson, M. (2010). Plant systematics. Academic Press. Geerinck, DJL. 1993. Amaryllidaceae. Flora Malesiana series 1, 11: 353-373. Website: http://www.rmc.upm.edu.my/upmip/index.php?conte nt=getcluster&ipid=720&ipdetailid=706&projectlead =33&cluster=3 Cos Digital Flora of the Philippines: http://www.philippineplants.org/