Rhipsalis tetragone (epiphyte)
1 media/image1_resize_thumb.png 2022-03-02T11:27:37-08:00 Khang Vo cd5c51849b921aef6fcf4a9b188c546ea4981515 40021 1 plain 2022-03-02T11:27:37-08:00 Khang Vo cd5c51849b921aef6fcf4a9b188c546ea4981515This page has annotations:
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2022-02-16T11:36:23-08:00
The Narrative of Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. macrophyllum (Colorado Desert Misletoe) and Rhipsalis tetragona (Misletoe Cactus)
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Following the UCLA Herbarium, UCLA Botanical garden, and Materia Medica Viscum album, the project aims to present unique characteristics and medical properties of parasitic plants. Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum was collected in the database of UCLA Herbarium; Rhipsalis tetragona (epiphyte) was observed in the botanical garden; and the medical properties of mistletoe was explained in the Materia Medica Viscum album. The project presents the text of the process of collecting and their plants special characteristics such as their usage in medical practices, and the media of sample pictures taken from the observation and database. How the plants were collected, identified, translated, classified, and the contextual reasons behind this process will be also presented to explore the general unique characteristics of parasitic plants. - By Khang Vo and Jessica McLaughlin.
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2022-03-07T11:46:26-08:00
Using the characteristics of Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. macrophyllum collected from UCLA Herbarium, characteristics of Rhipsalis tetragona (epiphyte) observed from Botanical garden, and general medical properties of mistletoe collected from Materia Medica Viscum album, the following sections will present the process of collecting and properties of the observed parasitic plants.
Firstly, Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. macrophyllum in UCLA Herbarium is of the Santalaceae family. The specimen was collected on 5th February 2018 by Rudy Diaz. According to the CCH2 Portal Collections, the location was United States, California, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Mountains and University of California, Los Angeles Campus; Dickinson Court North. One of the recorded characteristics is its habitat is on a cultivated California sycamore. The description of the recorded information shows that Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum is a perennial parasitic shrub.
This is parasitic plant meaning that it robs their hosts of moisture and some minerals. In reference to the medical use, the plant is also known as mistletoe, which is used as a smooth muscle stimulant to increase blood pressure, and to increase muscle contractions in the uterus and intestine. For centuries, mistletoe also served as a folk medicine treatment for cancer , and the plant is currently used in Europe to treat tumors. It is also used to cause abortions. It is also toxic as well according to some medical uses. In parts of South Asia, they are frequently used as an external medicine. Its medicinal active agents are Phoratoxin which has effects include blurred vision, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting (Swan, et al, 2022).
Because there is no historical record of Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. macrophyllum, we are using the materia medica record of the Viscum album, the European variation of the plant. Phoradendron leucarpum is also a mistletoe but is the variation that is found only in the Americas. Although they are found in different regions of the world, there are many similarities particularly in their appearance and medicinal uses. In the historical record of the Viscum album there is a green plant that is primarily made up of long skinny stems that have short and narrow leaves attached at the end of each branch. There are fruits on the end of some branches that are small, circular and appear to be of a darker shade such as blue or green (Forest Pathology, 2022).
Last but not least, observing Rhipsalis tetragona (epiphyte) in the UCLA Botanical Garden gave us another perspective on characteristics of parasitic plants. Rhipsalis tetragona (epiphyte) was located under the warm and dry environment. It was grown on Metrosideros kermadecensis, the supporting tree. There were multiple characteristics that we have observed. The stem of Rhipsalis tetragona (epiphyte) is very thin and straight, has a uniform bright green color, and is very lightweight. This unique branching pattern helps support the Rhipsalis tetragona and may be useful for food storage.
In conclusion, we can see the Rhipsalis tetragona (epiphyte) and Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum share some similarities such as the detail about their leaves since they are both parasitic plants. Generally about parasitic plants, it was shown that it has medical properties on treatments for some common illnesses like increased blood pressure, increased muscle contractions in the uterus and intestine, or even treatment for cancer or being toxic
WORKS CITED
Swain, Liz and Rebecca Frey. 2018. "Mistletoe." Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mistletoe“True Mistletoes: Phoradendron and Viscum.” Forest Pathology. https://forestpathology.org/parasitic-plants/true-mistletoesCCH2 portal detailed collection record information. 2022. https://www.cch2.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=5217089&clid=0 -
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2022-02-23T11:30:36-08:00
The History, Comparison, and Analysis of Parasitic Plants
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Our project presents the process of collecting and researching the special characteristics of parasitic plants. We explore each plant's respective medical practices and compare them to epiphytic plants that are similar to our original plants of interest. In each project, we individually explain how the plants were collected, identified, translated, and classified. The contextual reasons behind this process are also presented and connected to the general unique characteristics of parasitic plants. Each page provides a collection of media images that visually represent the main plant of interest, the epiphytic plant, the historical materia medica image, and the individual journal observations that we made of our respective plants. We offer comparative analysis and highlight important parts of each specimen throughout these photos. - By Khang Vo, Jessica McLaughlin, Alastair Sterns, and Dania Alkoraishi
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2022-03-08T16:05:01-08:00
Parasitic plants are plants that derive some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. As a result, parasitic plants have many special characteristics as they are usually observed as growing on the other plants’ body. Parasitic plants also have many chemical properties, including medical properties. Throughout history, parasitic plants have been observed to be used in many purposes of medical treatments. There are also many types of parasitic plants, different from areas or families. In this project, we will introduce some parasitic plants: Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. macrophyllum, Rhipsalis tetragona (epiphyte), Pedicularis densiflora (Indian Warrior) and the Platycerium superbum (Staghorn Fern). Presenting our collecting process and our observations, we will analyze how unique parasitic plants characteristics are and how they contribute to materia medica.
Over the duration of the quarter, our group has had the opportunity to explore and study multiple specimen of parasitic plants within different UCLA and other non-affiliated collections. The first collection we explored was that of the UCLA Herbarium through an online data base format called CCH2. This data base holds a vast collection of plant specimen from different herbariums across the nation, including our very own UCLA Herbarium. Although learning to navigate the CCH2 database provided us with valuable introduction to metadata and collection, we eventually had the opportunity to view our UCLA Herbarium specimen plants in person. Additionally, our group searched for these plants within the context of the “Materia Medica” using the Wellcome Collection. We were unable to find records related to the original plants, however, we were able to find historical images of parasitic plants that were quite similar. Lastly, our group observed specimen within the collection of plants at the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA. Unfortunately, the gardens featured very few parasitic plants (for obvious reasons), so instead we observed epiphytic plant specimen.
Following the UCLA Herbarium, UCLA Botanical garden, and Materia Medica Viscum album, the first two plants we will introduce are Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum and (epiphyte). Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum was collected in the database of UCLA Herbarium; was observed in the botanical garden. From the Viscum album, we will present the medical properties of mistletoe, the common names of both two plants.
Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum was observed from the media from the CCH2 resource of UCLA herbarium. The specimen was collected on 5th February 2018 by Rudy Diaz. Through our observation from the media, some unique characteristics of Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum are the thin stem, smooth dark yellow green leaves, and small buddings. A general medical property is that the plant is toxic to consume by mouth, they resorted to taking extracts from these parts of the plant.
Rhipsalis tetragone (epiphyte) was observed from UCLA Botanical Garden. We have had the chance to walk into the garden and observe the characteristics and environment of Rhipsalis tetragone (epiphyte). It was located under a warm and dry environment and was grown on Metrosideros kermadecensis, the supporting tree. Some highlight characteristics are the thin, straight, uniform bright green color, lightweight stem of Rhipsalis tetragone (epiphyte). Rhipsalis tetragone (epiphyte) has shown another perspective on parasitic plants.
The second set of parasitic plants we will analyze include the Pedicularis densiflora, more commonly known as the Indian Warrior, from the UCLA Herbarium, as well as the Platycerium superbum, better known as the staghorn fern, which was observed in the UCLA Botanical Garden.
Pedicularis densiflora is a parasitic plant sourced from the CCH2 website and was collected by Charles L. Hogue on March 6, 1954. Indian Warrior is a small and short plant reliant on being near the ground to get water and nutrients, spreading wide under the base of other trees and plants. Since it is a parasitic plant, it lives in or on other plants, but in turn, harms the host by decreasing its overall fitness and stealing its essential energy, water, and nutrients. One of the most notable of its medicinal uses is as a sedative to relieve nerve and muscle pain. It is known as being a potent skeletal muscle relaxant that can be used to treat cases of anxiety, tension, and insomnia.
The Platycerium superbum specimen was observed in the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens at UCLA on Friday, February 4th, 2022 at about 12:30pm. The weather was sunny with less than 25% cloud coverage and a temperature of about 70℉. Immediately we noticed its striking size and large antler like fronds, from which the plant gets its common name “staghorn.” Similar to parasitic plants, epiphytes like this staghorn fern rely on other plants to grow. However, unlike parasitic plants, they grow on other plants for physical support and greater access to essential resources, such as moisture and sunlight, rather than leaching nutrients from a host. This specimen was observed growing on the trunk of Ficus watkinsiana, better known as the Watkin’s Fig. In terms of its medicinal uses, staghorn species are known to have been used for treating ulcers, irregular menstrual cycles, fever, bile problems, coughs, and hypertension, as well as preventing miscarriages.
Both of the plants that came from the UCLA Herbarium were parasitic plants (Phoradendron leucarpum subsp. Macrophyllum and Pedicularis densiflora), whereas the two plants found in the UCLA Botanical Garden were epiphytes (Rhipsalis tetragona and Platycerium superbum). All four of the plants share the feature of relying on other plants to grow, yet they each have their own unique medicinal properties, ranging from sedative muscle tension relaxation to use during pregnancy. Further research on the medicinal properties of the plants could help advance the field of pharmacology by providing society with natural remedies from plants.