Colchicum ritchii
{{short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Colchicum ritchii 1.jpg
|genus = Colchicum
|species = ritchii
|authority = R.Br.
|synonyms = *Colchicum aegyptiacum Boiss.
- Colchicum ritchii var. pusillum Bég. & A.Vacc.
- Colchicum stenopetalum Boiss. & Buhse ex Stef.
- Colchicum ritchii f. pusillum (Bég. & A.Vacc.) Maire
}}
Colchicum ritchii, or the Egyptian autumn crocus, is a plant species native to the southeastern Mediterranean east to the Arabian Peninsula.
Description
Colchicum ritchii grows from a corm which is oval measuring 2-3.5 cm across, and covered with a loose brown skin. The leaves, which emerge and develop at the same time as the flowers, are largely hairless and elongate after flowering to form a cone which protects the developing fruits. The flowers which appear in December, January and February are white or pink, with plants with either colour frequently growing alongside each other. Each plant produces 2-10 flowers, which each have 6 tepals, 6 anthers and 3 styles. The inner tepals are ridged with just one, or at most very few teeth at the base, near the base of the anther. The anthers are black, but get covered by yellow pollen. The fruit is a green, irregularly shaped capsule, up to 35 mm long and 15 mm across which contains round, globular seeds.{{cite web | url = http://flora.org.il/en/plants/colrit/ | title = Colchicum ritchii R.Br. | accessdate = 2016-11-26 | publisher = Prof. Avinoam Danin|work = Flora of Israel Online}}
Habitat
Distribution
Colchicum ritchii is found from Tunisia{{cite web | url = http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/PTaxonDetailOccurrence.asp?NameId=65096&PTRefFk=8000000 | title = The Euro+Med PlantBase - the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity | accessdate = 2016-11-26 | publisher = Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem}} in the west to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/synonomy.do?name_id=302941 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Colchicum ritchii]{{cite journal | author1 = F. Q. Alali1 | author2 = K. Tawaha | author3 = T. El-Elimat | year = 2007 | title = Determination of (–)-demecolcine and (–)-colchicine content in selected Jordanian Colchicum species | journal = Pharmazie | volume =62 | issue = 10 | pages = 739–742| pmid = 18236776 }}Robert Brown. 1826. Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa App.: 241, Colchicum ritchii
Uses
Extracts from Colchicum ritchii are used in traditional medicine to treat arthritis, rheumatism, gout and abdominal colics.{{cite web | url = https://www.iucn.org/downloads/bio_final_review.pdf | title = NORTH AFRICA BIODIVERSITY PROGRAMME, PHASE III | accessdate = 2016-11-26 | publisher = IUCN}} Bedouin children dig up the corms from the desert to sell them after drying them to herbalists in Alexandria and other Egyptian cities.{{cite web | url = http://www.uicnmed.org/nabp/web/documents/PhaseIIreportegypt.pdf | title = NORTH AFRICA PROGHRAMME BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION Conservation and sustainable Use of Biological Resources in the North Western Desert of Egypt with the Involvement of the Local Population | accessdate = 2016-11-26 | publisher = IUCN}} The anti-inflammatory drug colchicine was originally extracted from closely related species to this plant in ancient Egypt.{{cite journal | url= | title=Intravenous colchicine in the treatment of gouty arthritis |author1=Wallace Graham |author2=James B. Roberts | journal=Ann Rheum Dis | year=1953 | volume=12 | pages=16–19 | doi=10.1136/ard.12.1.16 | pmid=13031443 | issue=1 | pmc=1030428}}
Etymology
Colchicum ritchii was named by Robert Brown after Joseph Ritchie who he said was the first to observe the plant near Tripoli.{{cite book | author1 =Robert Brown | year = 1826 | title = Observations on the structure and affinities of the more remarkable plants collected by the late Walter Oudney and Major Denham: and Captain Clapperton in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824, during their expedition to explore Central Africa | page = 36 | publisher = T Davison}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.wildflowers.co.il/english/plant.asp?ID=282 Wild Flowers of Israel, Colchicum ritchii]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140424233407/http://www.bulbsociety.org/GALLERY_OF_THE_WORLDS_BULBS/GRAPHICS/Colchicum/Colchicum_ritchii/Colchicum_ritchii.html Bulb Society Gallery of the World's Bulbs, Colchicum ritchii]
- [http://flora.org.il/plants/COLRIT/ Flora of Israel Online, Colchicum ritchii, Saffron Negev]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15539567}}
Category:Plants described in 1826
Category:Flora of Saudi Arabia
Category:Flora of Lebanon and Syria