TRIPLEUROSPERMUM Sch.Bip.SCENTLESS-CHAMOMILE

TRIPLEUROSPERMUM Sch.Bip. - SCENTLESS-CHAMOMILE

Scientific Description:

Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, usually subglabrous or sparsely pubescent, taprooted or rhizomatous. Leaves 1−3-pinnatisect. Capitula either homogamous and discoid, or heterogamous and radiate or disciform, pedunculate. Phyllaries 2−5-seriate, imbricate, margins membranous. Receptacle hemispherical, ovoid or conical, naked. Female flowers usually ligulate, seldom tubular; ligules white, rarely pale pink. Disc flowers tubular, yellow; corolla lobes with reddish gland at tip or eglandular, tips sometimes brown or blackish. Achenes triquetrous, oblong or obpyramidal, mucilaginous or not; anteriorly smooth, rugose, tuberculate, longitudinally lineolate or 1−2-ribbed, usually with 2 glands at apex (sometimes nearly obsolete), rarely 3−5-glandular; posteriorly 3-ribbed, ribs thick or thin, usually fissured between. Pappus sometimes absent, usually coronate, scarious, 1/8−1/2 as long as achene, crenulate or 3-lobate, posterior lobe free or rarely absent in achenes of ligulate flowers.

Reference:
Hossain ABM Enayet (1975). Tripleurospermum Sch.Bip., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 5: 295.

Public Description:

Tripleurospermum is a genus of annual, biennial or perennial herbs, known as “scentless-chamomile” or “mayweed”, and is distributed in Europe and temperate Asia although a few are from North America and North Africa. There are approximately 38 species in the world and 28 species (30 taxa) in Türkiye. The genus name “Tripleurospermum” derives from the Latin “tri” three; “pleuron” rib; “sperma” seed; in allusion to the three-ribbed achenes. They have white flowers but middle of the flowers is yellow. Some species of this genus, which are known locally “papatya”, are commonly used in Türkiye as a foodstuff. The decoction and infusion preparations from “beybunik in Turkish (Tripleurospermum parviflorum (Willd.) Pobed.)” and “kır papatyası in Turkish (Tripleurospermum monticolum (Boiss. &A.Huet) Bornm.)” are used against cough and stomachache and as antipyretic. “hanım gödesi in Turkish (Tripleurospermum sevanense (Manden.) Pobed.)” is used externally for hair care in Türkiye. Some species have also soothing, calming and relaxation properties. In Turkish traditional medicine, “scentless-chamomile (Tripleurospermum Sch.Bip.)” species have been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, especially “beybunik (T. parviflorum)” and “saçaklı beybunik in Turkish (Tripleurospermum tenuifolium (Kit.) Freyn)” which possess remarkable anti-inflammatory activity.

References:

Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripleurospermum, Accessed date: 22.01.2016.

Anonymous 2 (2016). http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Tripleurospermum, Accessed date: 22.01.2016.

Erdoğan TF, Küpeli Akkol E, Süntar İ, Mert Gönenç T, Kıvçak B (2015). Fatty Acid Compositions and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Tripleurospermum parviflorum (Willd.) Pobed. and Tripleurospermum tenuifolium (Kit.). Rec. Nat. Prod. 9:3 394-403.

İnceer H (2012). Tripleurospermum Sch.Bip. In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 212–214.