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Camptotheca acuminata

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Species of aquatic plant

Camptotheca acuminata
Trunk of the tree
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Cornales
Family: Nyssaceae
Genus: Camptotheca
Species: C. acuminata
Binomial name
Camptotheca acuminata
Decne.
Bull. Soc. Bot. France 20: 157 (1873)

Camptotheca acuminata is a species of tree in the Camptotheca genus that is native to north Vietnam and southern China. It is also cultivated in the southern United States.

A eudicot, it is a flowering deciduous tree with light gray bark. It can grow to a height of 20 metres (66 ft). Its large, papery leaves are somewhat oval in shape, usually 12 to 28 cm (5 to 10 in) long and 6 to 12 cm (2 to 5 in) wide. The flowers, which bloom from May through July, produce a gray-brown fruit with one seed in September.

Uses

Camptotheca acuminata is a source of camptothecin chemicals, which have been tested for potential use as treatments for cancer and HIV. The modern chemotherapy drugs topotecan and irinotecan are derived from it, though now the molecules are produced in a lab environment rather than extracted from the leaves and bark of the tree. Because of this, it is sometimes called the "cancer tree".

In traditional Chinese medicine, the tree is called xi shu ("tree of joy" or "happy tree") and was considered a relatively unimportant medicinal plant.

The tree is also grown for shade and ornamental value.

References

  1. "Camptotheca acuminata Decne. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  2. ^ Lewis, Walter H.; Elvin-Lewis, Memory P. F. (2003-09-04). Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Human Health. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 205–206. ISBN 978-0-471-62882-8.
  3. "Camptotheca acuminata". NCBI. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  4. ^ "Camptotheca acuminata". World Flora Online.
  5. ^ Foster, Steven; Johnson, Rebecca L. (2008). National Geographic Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine. National Geographic Books. pp. 202–203. ISBN 978-1-4262-0293-3.

Further reading

  • Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.
  • Govaerts, R. (2003). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Wu, Z., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D. (eds.) (2007). Flora of China 13: 1-548. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
  • Wu Chi-Jun (1848). Zhi Wu Ming Shi Du Gao , Beijing.
Taxon identifiers
Camptotheca acuminata
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