Gelsemium elegans

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Gentianales

Familia: Gelsemiaceae
Genus: Gelsemium
Species: Gelsemium elegans
Name

Gelsemium elegans (Gardner) & (Champ.) Benth., 1857
Synonyms

Gelsemium sumatranum (Blume) Boerl.
Leptopteris sumatrana Blume
Medicia elegans Gardner & Champ.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Indian subcontinent
Assam
Regional: China
China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan
Continental: Asia-Tropicalasia
Regional: Southeastern US
Borneo, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Bentham, G., 1857. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society. Botany. London 1:90.

Additional references

Govaerts, R.H.A. 2003. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [unavailable for the public] Reference page.
Kress, W.J.E., DeFilipps, R.A., Farr, E. & Kyi, D.Y.Y. 2003. A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs and Climbers of Myanmar Contributions from the United States. National Herbarium 45: 1-590. Smithsonian Institution. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Gelsemium elegans in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jul 10. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Gelsemium elegans in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jul 10. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Gelsemium elegans. Published online. Accessed: Jul 10 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Gelsemium elegans. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jul 10.
Hassler, M. 2021. Gelsemium elegans. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Jul 10. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Gelsemium elegans. Accessed: 10 Jul 2021.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Gelsemium elegans in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names

Gelsemium elegans, commonly known as heartbreak grass, is a poisonous plant of the family Gelsemiaceae found in China and other Asian countries. It contains toxic alkaloids such as gelsemine, gelsenicine, gelsevirine and koumine.[1][2]

Crumbled leaves of this plant, surreptitiously added to food, were used in the 23rd of December 2011 poisoning of Long Liyuan, a magnate of the Chinese timber industry, and perhaps in the 10th of November 2012 poisoning of Alexander Perepilichny, a Russian financier cooperating with a fraud investigation in London,[3] though the role of the plant in his death has been disputed.[4][5]
References

Jin, G. L; Su, Y. P; Liu, M; Xu, Y; Yang, J; Liao, K. J; Yu, C. X (2014). "Medicinal plants of the genus Gelsemium (Gelsemiaceae, Gentianales)—A review of their phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and traditional use". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 152 (1): 33–52. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.01.003. PMID 24434844.
Rujjanawate, C; Kanjanapothi, D; Panthong, A (2003). "Pharmacological effect and toxicity of alkaloids from Gelsemium elegans Benth". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 89 (1): 91–5. doi:10.1016/s0378-8741(03)00267-8. PMID 14522437.
Ligaya Mishan (2018-10-31). "What if the Powerful (and Paranoid) Started Using Official Tasters Again?". New York Times Style Magazine.
"Alexander Perepilichny: Rare Chinese poison found in stomach of Russian whistleblower". ABC Online. Agence France-Presse. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
Holden, Michael (13 March 2017). "Was Russian whistleblower murdered in UK with poisoned soup?". reuters.com. Retrieved 9 March 2018.