Ophiopogon

Ophiopogon (lilyturf)[2] is a genus of evergreen perennial plants native to warm temperate to tropical East, Southeast, and South Asia.[1][3] Despite their grasslike appearance, they are not closely related to the true grasses, the Poaceae. The name of the genus is derived from Greek ὄφις ophis, 'snake' and πώγων pogon, 'beard', most probably referring to its leaves and tufted growth.[4][5][6][7] In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae).[8] Like many lilioid monocots, it was formerly classified in the Liliaceae.

Ophiopogon
Ophiopogon japonicus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Ophiopogon
Ker Gawl.
Synonyms[1]
  • Mondo Adans.
  • Flueggea Rich. 1807, illegitimate homonym, not Willd. 1806
  • Slateria Desv.
  • Chloopsis Blume

They grow from short rhizomes, and bear tufts of leaves, from which flowers emerge in racemes held on short stems above the leaves.

Species[1]
  1. Ophiopogon acerobracteatus - Guangdong
  2. Ophiopogon albimarginatus - Guangxi
  3. Ophiopogon amblyphyllus - Sichuan, Yunnan
  4. Ophiopogon angustifoliatus - S China
  5. Ophiopogon bockianus - S China, Vietnam
  6. Ophiopogon bodinieri - China, Bhutan
  7. Ophiopogon brevipes - Thailand
  8. Ophiopogon caulescens - SE Asia
  9. Ophiopogon chingii - S China
  10. Ophiopogon clarkei - C + E Himalayas
  11. Ophiopogon clavatus - S China
  12. Ophiopogon confertifolius - Thailand
  13. Ophiopogon cordylinoides - N Myanmar
  14. Ophiopogon corifolius - Guangxi, Guizhou
  15. Ophiopogon dracaenoides - S China, N Indochina, E Himalayas
  16. Ophiopogon filipes - Guangxi
  17. Ophiopogon fooningensis - Yunnan
  18. Ophiopogon grandis - Yunnan, Guizhou, Myanmar
  19. Ophiopogon heterandrus - S China
  20. Ophiopogon hongjiangensis - Yunnan
  21. Ophiopogon humilis - Cambodia, Vietnam
  22. Ophiopogon intermedius - S China, S + SE Asia
  23. Ophiopogon jaburan - Korea, Jeju-do, Japan, Nansei-shoto
  24. Ophiopogon japonicus - E Asia, Philippines
  25. Ophiopogon jiangchengensis - Yunnan
  26. Ophiopogon kradungensis - Thailand
  27. Ophiopogon latifolius - Yunnan, Guangxi, Vietnam
  28. Ophiopogon leptophyllus - Assam
  29. Ophiopogon longifolius - Vietnam
  30. Ophiopogon lushuiensis - Yunnan
  31. Ophiopogon mairei - S China
  32. Ophiopogon malcolmsonii - Myanmar
  33. Ophiopogon marmoratus - S China, N Indochina
  34. Ophiopogon megalanthus - Yunnan
  35. Ophiopogon menglianensis - Yunnan
  36. Ophiopogon micranthus - Assam
  37. Ophiopogon motouensis - Tibet
  38. Ophiopogon multiflorus - Guangxi
  39. Ophiopogon ogisui - Guangxi
  40. Ophiopogon paniculatus - Sichuan
  41. Ophiopogon peliosanthoides - S China, Vietnam
  42. Ophiopogon pierrei - Cambodia
  43. Ophiopogon pingbienensis - Yunnan
  44. Ophiopogon planiscapus - Japan
  45. Ophiopogon platyphyllus - S China, Vietnam
  46. Ophiopogon pseudotonkinensis - Guangxi
  47. Ophiopogon regnieri - Vietnam
  48. Ophiopogon reptans - S China, N Indochina, Assam
  49. Ophiopogon reversus - Guangxi, Hainan
  50. Ophiopogon revolutus - Yunnan, Thailand
  51. Ophiopogon sar-garhwalensis - Uttarakhand
  52. Ophiopogon sarmentosus - Yunnan, Guangxi
  53. Ophiopogon siamensis - N Thailand
  54. Ophiopogon sinensis - Yunnan, Guangxi
  55. Ophiopogon sparsiflorus - Guangxi, Guangdong
  56. Ophiopogon stenophyllus - S China
  57. Ophiopogon subverticillatus - Vietnam
  58. Ophiopogon sylvicola - Sichuan, Guizhou
  59. Ophiopogon szechuanensis - Sichuan, Yunnan
  60. Ophiopogon tienensis - Yunnan, Guangxi
  61. Ophiopogon tonkinensis - Yunnan, Guangxi, Vietnam
  62. Ophiopogon tsaii - Yunnan
  63. Ophiopogon umbraticola - S China
  64. Ophiopogon vietnamensis - Vietnam
  65. Ophiopogon xylorrhizus - Yunnan
  66. Ophiopogon yunnanensis - Yunnan
  67. Ophiopogon zingiberaceus - Sichuan, Yunnan

Cultivation and uses

Some species, such as O. japonicus and O. planiscapus, are used as ground-cover plants.

In Chinese medicine, the tuber of O. japonicus, known as mai men dong, is the cardinal herb for yin deficiency. According to the Chinese herbal medicine Materia Medica, the herb is sweet, slightly bitter, and slightly cold; it enters the heart, lung and stomach channels, thus nourishes the yin of the stomach, spleen, heart, and lungs, and clears heat and quiets irritability. It is used for hacking dry coughs, dry tongue and mouth, and constipation. Liriope is used as a substitute.[9]

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
  3. Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 252 沿阶草属 yan jie cao shu Ophiopogon Ker Gawler, Bot. Mag. 27: t. 1063. 1807.
  4. Germplasm Resources Information Network: Ophiopogon Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Flora of China: Ophiopogon
  6. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
  7. When Perennials Bloom: An Almanac for Planning and Planting By Tomasz Aniśko pg 342
  8. Chase, M.W.; Reveal, J.L. & Fay, M.F. (2009), "A subfamilial classification for the expanded asparagalean families Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 132–136, doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00999.x
  9. Bensky, D., Clavey, S., Stoger, E., & Gamble, A. (2004). Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, third edition. Eastland Press.
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