Iberis

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids II
Ordo: Brassicales

Familia: Brassicaceae
Tribus: Iberideae
Genus: Iberis
Sectiones: I. sect. Iberidium – I. sect. Iberis

Species: I. amara – I. atlantica – I. aurosica – I. bernardiana – I. carica – I. carnosa – I. ciliata – I. corifolia – I. fontqueri – I. gibraltarica – I. grosii – I. grosmiquelii – I. halophila – I. linifolia – I. nazarita – I. odorata – I. pectinata – I. peyerimhoffii – I. pinnata – I. procumbens – I. runemarkii – I. saxatilis – I. semperflorens – I. sempervirens – I. simplex – I. spathulata – I. umbellata
Source(s) of checklist:
Name

Iberis L. (1753)

Type species: I. semperflorens L.

Synonyms

Homotypic
Biauricula Bubani, Fl. Pyrenaea 3: 217. 1901 [1].

Notes

Iberis calycina Noronha (in Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunst. 5(Art. 4): 18. 1790 [2], nom. inval.) is just a name and is not associated to any known plant.

References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 648.

Links

Koch, M.A. et al. 2019. Iberis in BrassiBase Tools and biological resources to study characters and traits in the Brassicaceae. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jun 05.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Iberis. Published online. Accessed: Jun 05 2019.
The Plant List 2013. Iberis in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jun 05.
Tropicos.org 2019. Iberis. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jun 05.

Vernacular names
беларуская: Іберыс
čeština: Štěničník
dansk: Sløjfeblomst
Deutsch: Schleifenblumen
English: Candytuft
suomi: Saipot
français: Ibéris
hrvatski: Ognjica
hornjoserbsce: Seklička
magyar: Tatárvirág
lietuvių: Rudgrūdėlė
polski: Ubiorek
русский: Иберис
svenska: Iberisar
Türkçe: İberya
中文: 屈曲花属

Iberis /aɪˈbɪərɪs/,[1] commonly called candytuft, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae. It comprises annuals, evergreen perennials and subshrubs native to the Old World.[2] The name "candytuft" is not related to candy, but derives from Candia, the former name of Iraklion on the Island of Greece.[3]

In the language of flowers, the candytuft symbolizes indifference.[4]

Species

Iberis consists of about 30 species of annuals, perennials and evergreen subshrubs. Some of the better known are:

Iberis amara - rocket candytuft, bitter candytuft, wild candytuft
Iberis ciliata
Iberis gibraltarica - Gibraltar candytuft
Iberis linifolia
Iberis procumbens - dune candytuft
Iberis sempervirens - evergreen candytuft, perennial candytuft
Iberis umbellata - globe candytuft

They are used as ornamental plants for rock gardens, bedding, and borders in full sun or light shade.

Trophic connections

These plants provide nourishment for a number of insect species of which the rare Euchloe tagis butterfly is the most striking example as it is monophagous on species in this genus. [5][6]

Biochemical defenses

Species in the genus Iberis contain not only glucosinolates, which are characteristic chemical defenses of the Brassicaceae plant family, but also cucurbitacins,[7] which are better known as chemical defenses in the Cucurbitaceae plant family. Cucurbitacins from Iberis amara have antifeedant activity against the Brassicaceae-feeding specialist Pieris rapae (cabbage butterfly).[8] Cucurbitacins from Iberis umbellata (globe candytuft) are ecdysteroid antagonists, acting on the ecdysteroid receptor of insects.[9]
References

Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804. ISBN 978-0199206872.
"Language of Flowers - Flower Meanings, Flower Sentiments". www.languageofflowers.com. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
de Viedma, M. G.; Escribano, R.; Gómez-Bustillo, M. R.; Mattoni, R. H. T. (1985-01-01). "The first attempt to establish a nature reserve for the conservation of lepidoptera in Spain". Biological Conservation. 32 (3): 255–276. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(85)90113-2. ISSN 0006-3207.
Marabuto, Eduardo; Pina-Martins, Francisco; Rebelo, Maria Teresa; Paulo, Octávio S. (2020). "Ancient divergence, a crisis of salt and another of ice shaped the evolution of the west Mediterranean butterfly Euchloe tagis". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 131 (3): 487–504. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blaa129.
Nielsen, Jens Kvist; Larsen, Lone Melchior; Søorensen, Hilmer (1977-01-01). "Cucurbitacin E and I in Iberis amara: Feeding inhibitors for Phyllotreta nemorum". Phytochemistry. 16 (10): 1519–1522. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(77)84014-4. ISSN 0031-9422.
Sachdev-Gupta, Kusum; Radke, Celia D.; Renwick, J. Alan A. (1993-08-12). "Antifeedant activity of cucurbitacins from Iberis amara against larvae of Pieris rapae". Phytochemistry. The International Journal of Plant Biochemistry. 33 (6): 1385–1388. doi:10.1016/0031-9422(93)85096-A. ISSN 0031-9422.
Dinan, Laurence; Whiting, Pensri; Girault, Jean-Pierre; Lafont, René; Dhadialla, S. Tarlochan; Cress, E. Dean; Mugat, Bruno; Antoniewski, Christophe; Lepesant, Jean-Antoine (1997-11-01). "Cucurbitacins are insect steroid hormone antagonists acting at the ecdysteroid receptor". Biochemical Journal. 327 (3): 643–650. doi:10.1042/bj3270643. ISSN 0264-6021. PMC 1218839. PMID 9581538.