Erysimum caboverdeanum

species of plant

Erysimum caboverdeanum is a plant species that belongs to the Brassicaceae family, the cabbage or mustard family. It is found only in the Fogo island, Cape Verde.

Erysimum caboverdeanum
Erysimum caboverdeanum at the botanical gardens in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Erysimum caboverdeanum at the botanical gardens in Las Palmas, Canary Islands
Scientific classification
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E. caboverdeanum
Binomial name
Erysimum caboveredanum
Synonyms

Matthiola caboverdeana A.Chev.

It was named for the first time by the French botanist Auguste Jean Baptiste Chevalier in 1935.[1] Caboverdeanum (or the original caboverdeana) is a Latin word that means "Cape Verdean" or "from Cape Verde".

Synonym change

Chevalier named, in 1935, this species as Matthiola caboverdeana; this name now is a synonym because Sunding changed it to the present name, Erysimum caboverdeanum.[2]

Common names change

It is locally known as crabo bravo ("wild carnation")[3] and alecrim branco ("white rosemary").[1]

Description change

Erysimum caboverdeanum is a biennial small bush, up to 60 cm (24 in) high; its stems are woody and they stand upright. The narrow leaves are about 4 cm (1.6 in) long and 0.2 cm (0.08 in) wide and their margins are finely toothed.[1][4]

The flowers, which are white or lilac coloured, are in groups (inflorescences) at the end of the stems.[1] The fruits are very narrow and stand upright.[4]

 
Erysimum caboverdeanum at the botanical gardens in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Where it grows change

Erysimum caboverdeanum is an endemic species of the Cape Verdean island of Fogo on the volcano Pico do Fogo. It is common in soils with a recent volcanic origin at an altitude between 1,600 and 2,300 m (5,249 and 7,546 ft); it is found on the slopes of the volcano and in the Chã das Caldeiras, the plain in the volcanic crater.[1][4]

Uses change

The species is used for traditional medicinal purposes[4] mainly as an infusion.[3]

It is possible to use it as an ornamental plant, even in places like central Europe.[1]

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Auguste Chevalier (1935). Les îles du Cap Vert : géographie, biogéographie, agriculture. Flore de l'archipel (in French). Paris: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, laboratoire d'agronomie coloniale. p. 992. Available on at TelaBotanica.
  2. "Erysimum caboverdeanum (Chev.) Sunding". The Plant List. Retrieved 21 August 2013.[permanent dead link]
  3. 3.0 3.1 (in Portuguese) Alda Roque Gomes, Teresa Vasconcelos et M. Helena Guimarães de Almeida, « Plantas na medicina tradicional de Cabo Verde », p. 7 in Plantas Medicinais e Fitoterapêuticas nos Trópicos, IICT /CCCM, 29, 30 et 31 octobre 2008 [1] Archived 2017-03-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Isildo Gomes; et al. (2003). Plantas endémicas e árvores indígenas das ilhas do Cabo Verde (in Portuguese). Cape Verde: Instituto Nacional de Investigação e Desenvolvimento Agrário and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeitand.

Other websites change