Rhaphithamnus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Verbenaceae
Genus: Rhaphithamnus
Species (2): R. spinosus – R. venustus
Source(s) of checklist:
Checklist based uncritically on accepted species according to The Plant List. Check 4 unresolved names.
Name

Rhaphithamnus Miers, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 27: 95 (1870)

Type species: Rhaphithamnus spinosus (Juss.) Moldenke Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 42: 69. (1937) Designated as its synonym Rhaphithamnus cyanocarpum (Hook. & Arn.) Miers (1870).
Synonyms

Poeppigia Bertero ex Férussac, Bull. Sci. Nat. Géol. 23: 109 (1830) nom. illeg.
Raphithamnus Dalla Torre & Harms, Gen. Siphon. 431 (1904)

References

Miers, J. (1870) Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 27: 95.
Marx, H.E., O'Leary, N., Yuan, Y.W., Lu-Irving, P., Tank, D.C., Múlgura de Romero, M.E. & Olmstead, R.G. 2010. A molecular phylogeny and classification of Verbenaceae. American Journal of Botany 97(10): 1647–1663. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1000144 Open accessReference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2014. Rhaphithamnus in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2014 Nov. 1. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2014. Rhaphithamnus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2014 Nov. 1.
International Plant Names Index. 2016. Rhaphithamnus. Published online. Accessed: 13 January 2016.

Rhaphithamnus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Verbenaceae.

Traditionally, it has been considered by the locals that the berries of this genus of plants are toxic or poisonous, so their consumption is not recommended.

Species

Rhaphithamnus spinosus (Juss.) Moldenke[2] Common names in Chile and Argentina repu, arayan macho and espino negro ( = 'black-thorn').
Rhaphithamnus venustus (Phil.) Rob.

Use in Chilean folk medicine

In the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile R. spinosus is one of three plant species believed in local folk medicine to be antidotes to the anticholinergic poisoning caused by the dangerous hallucinogenic plant Latua pubiflora ( Solanaceae ). It is used by the shamans of the indigenous Huilliche people who employ Latua to enter trance in machitun healing rituals.[3][4][5][6]
Gallery

Rhaphithamnus spinosus in flower.

Spiny twigs of Rhaphithamnus spinosus.

Mid-shot of fruiting specimen of R. spinosus in Chilean planting at Logan Botanic Garden.

Close-up of striking, bluish-purple fruits of Rhaphithamnus spinosus.

References

"Genus: Rhaphithamnus Miers". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
"GRIN Species Records of Rhaphithamnus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
Murillo, A., 1899 Plantes Medicinales du Chile. Exposition Universelle de Paris, Section Chilenne pp. 152–155.
Mariani, Ramírez C., 1965 Temas de Hipnosis pub. Editorial Andrés Bello, Biblioteca de Estudios Médicos, Santiago. page 336.
Sparre, B. ( Curator of Museum of Natural History, Stockholm in early 1950s ) 1970. Letter to the authors of the Harvard Botanical Museum Leaflet on Latua : Plowman, Gyllenhaal and Lindgren.
Plowman, Timothy, Gyllenhaal, Lars Olof and Lindgren, Jan Erik Latua pubiflora magic plant from southern Chile Botanical Museum Leaflets Harvard University Vol. 23, No. 2, Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 12, 1971