Hernandiaceae

Hernandiaceae
Hernandia moerenhoutiana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Magnoliids
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Hernandiaceae Bercht. & J.Presl (1820)
genera
Hernandia Illigera Gyrocarpus Hazomalania

Hernandiaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognised by most taxonomists.

The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, of 1998), also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Laurales in the clade magnoliids. As circumscribed by APG the family includes those plants that sometimes have been treated as forming the family Gyrocarpaceae. The family is usually described as counting four genera, totalling several dozen species.

Description

Trees, or shrubs, or lianas; bearing essential oils. Self supporting, or climbing. Leaves alternate; aromatic; simple, or compound; peltate (often, in Hernandia), or not peltate; if compound, palmate. Lamina dissected, or entire; when dissected, palmatifid; palmately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves estipulate. Cork cambium present; initially superficial. Nodes unilacunar. Primary vascular tissue in a cylinder, without separate bundles. Cortical bundles absent. Medullary bundles absent. Internal phloem absent. Secondary thickening developing from a conventional cambial ring. Included phloem absent. Xylem with libriform fibres. Vessel end-walls simple. Vessels without vestured pits. Wood parenchyma paratracheal. Sieve-tube plastids P-type; type I.

Flowers and fruit

The plants can be hermaphrodite, or monoecious. The flowers are aggregated in inflorescences, in cymes, regular, cyclic or tetracyclic. They present a perianth with distinct calyx and corolla. The corolla is not fleshy. Androecial members free of the perianth; free of one another; 1 whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens, or including staminodes (these in the form of 1–2 nectariferous glands outside the stamens, cf. Lauraceae). Staminodes external to the fertile stamens (3–5); oppositisepalous (alternating with the inner perianth whorl). Anthers dehiscing by longitudinal valves. Anther wall of the ‘dicot’ type. Pollen grains nonaperturate; 2-celled. Gynoecium 1 carpelled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. The pistil 1 celled. Gynoecium monomerous; of one carpel; inferior. Carpel stylate; apically stigmatic; 1 ovuled. Placentation apical. Ovules pendulous; anatropous; bitegmic; crassinucellate. Endosperm formation cellular.

The fruit is non-fleshy and presents the following characteristics: fruiting carpel indehiscent, winged or enclosed in an inflated envelope derived from connate bracteoles, with only 1 seed non-endospermic, 2 cotyledons (fleshy, oily, smooth or ruminate). The embryo is straight.

Phytochemistry

Not cyanogenic. Alkaloids present (Efatine, (+)-O,O-dimethyl corytuberine, hernandaline, hernandine, hernanymphine and herveline A). Iridoids not detected. Arthroquinones detected (Illigera); polyacetate derived. Proanthocyanidins absent. Lignans present (Deoxypodophyllic acid, (+)-hernangerine, hernolactone, epimagnolin, epieudesmine, epiaschantin). Flavonols present: kaempferol and quercetin. Ellagic acid absent (Hernandia). Saponins/sapogenins absent. Aluminium accumulation not found. Sugars transported as sucrose (Hernandia).

Hernandine, aporphine alkaloid from Hernandia

Uses

The bark, seeds and young leaves are purgative. The root is chewed as a remedy against eating poisonous crabs and fishes. The juice of the bark and leaves has depilatery properties. The available information on the plant parts used by Samoan healers, their modes of preparation and application have been listed in Table-1. The leaves of the plant are used as hypertensive antitumor prophylaxis of arteriosclerosis piscicide. The Stem bark, root bark, twigs, stalks and seeds of the plant are used as hypotensive, non-cholinergic, relaxant smooth musculature, vasopressive, sympathicomimetic for inflammation and irritation of the upper respiratory system and the gastrointestinal tract. Also used as mild laxative, antidiarrheal, cytotoxic, cytostatic, antiviral, externally on boils, ulcers, sores, inflammations. The pericarp of the fruits also relaxes the smooth musculature, produces a cataleptic action, anti-convulsive, in convulsive disorders, vasopressive, reduces intestinal movement, hypotensive, non-cholinergic, dilation of capillary blood vessels (non toxic low doses) respiration is accelerated, uterus-stimulating (large doses) respiration is slowed, uterus- inhibitor, stimulation of the secretion of tears and saliva, might cause emesis and moderate tachycardia, hypnotic, sedative, narcotic, adrenolytic, psychomimetic, induces hyperglycemia.

Among the chemical compounds isolated from the family Hernandiaceae, the alkaloid corytuberine is the oldest known compound. Later on, its derivative O,O-Dimethylcorytuberine was reported from several Hernandia species, including H. nymphaeifolia. Actinodaphnine and hernandion, were the earliest chemical compounds reported from the family hernandiaceae respectively. .

Species

Species 54. Genera 3; Hazomalania, Hernandia, Illigera.

• Gyrocarpus is considered in Cronquist System to belong a separated family, the Gyrocarpaceae. (Propellerbaum, Whirly Whirly Tree, Stinkwood, Helicopter Tree) [1]

Genus Hernandia

• Hernandia ovigera (syn. H. peltata) is the most abundant species in terms of the sheer number of compounds isolated and subsequent biological activities reported in the literature.
• Hernandia albiflora
• Hernandia beninensis
• Hernandia bivalvis
• Hernandia catalpifolia
• Hernandia cordigera
• Hernandia cubensis
• Hernandia didymantha
• Hernandia drakeana
• Hernandia guianensis
• Hernandia hammelii
• Hernandia jamaicensis
• Hernandia kunstleri
• Hernandia leucomphala
• Hernandia lychnifera
• Hernandia mascarenensis
• Hernandia moerenhoutiana Guill. (indigenous to Samoa Islands, also occurs westward to Melanesia.)
• Hernandia nukuhivensis
• Hernandia nymphaeifolia
• Hernandia obovata
• Hernandia olivacea
• Hernandia papuana
• Hernandia peltata
• Hernandia rostrata
• Hernandia samoensis
• Hernandia sonora
• Hernandia stenura
• Hernandia stokesii
• Hernandia tahitensis
• Hernandia temarii
• Hernandia voyroni
• Hernandia wendtii

Genus Illigera

• Illigera appendiculata
• Illigera aromatica
• Illigera brevistaminata
• Illigera cardiophylla
• Illigera celebica
• Illigera cordata
• Illigera coryzadenia
• Illigera cucullata
• Illigera dasyphylla
• Illigera diptera
• Illigera dubia
• Illigera dunniana
• Illigera elegans
• Illigera elliptifolia
• Illigera fordii
• Illigera gammiei
• Illigera glabra
• Illigera glandulosa
• Illigera grandiflora
• Illigera henryi
• Illigera khasiana
• Illigera kurzii
• Illigera lucida
• Illigera luzonensis
• Illigera madagascariensis
• Illigera megaptera
• Illigera meyeniana
• Illigera mollissima
• Illigera nervosa
• Illigera novoguineensis
• Illigera obtusa
• Illigera orbiculata
• Illigera ovatifolia
• Illigera parviflora
• Illigera pentaphylla
• Illigera petelotii
• Illigera pierrei
• Illigera platyandra
• Illigera pseudoparviflora
• Illigera pubescens
• Illigera pulchra
• Illigera reticulata
• Illigera rhodantha
• Illigera rhodanthe
• Illigera ternata
• Illigera thorelii
• Illigera trifoliata
• Illigera vespertilio
• Illigera villosa
• Illigera yaoshanensis

Genus Hazomalania

• Hazomalania voyronii

External links

• Hernandiaceae, Gyrocarpaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 3 May 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
• Hernandiaceae at the University of Hawaii
• NCBI Taxonomy Browser
• links at CSDL, Texas
• Vegetation of the Montane Region of Savai'i, W. Arthur Whistler.
• "The Families of Flowering Plants". L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz: Hernandiaceae [2]
• Lakshmi et al., Rec. Nat. Prod. 3:1 (2009) 1-22 [3]