Iochroma

Taxobox
name = "Iochroma"

---

image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Iochroma fuchsioides"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Solanales
familia = Solanaceae
genus = "Iochroma"
genus_authority = Benth.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Iochroma" is a genus of about 24 species of shrubs and small trees found in the forests of South America. They range from Colombia to Argentina or when certain species are excluded (see below) from Colombia to Peru. Their hummingbird pollinated flowers are tubular or trumpet-shaped, and may be blue, purple, red, yellow, or white, becoming pulpy berries. The cupular calyx is inflated in some species. The leaves are alternate, simple, and entire.

Iochromas are cultivated as flowering ornamentals and in cooler zones (zones 7-8/9) make useful patio shrubs for summer display or conservatory plants. The majority are not frost hardy and must be overwintered under protection. In warmer zones (zones 9-10) they can be used as landscape plants. They are commonly trained as standards (topiary) to control their size and shape. Iochroma flowers attract hummingbirds (Americas only) and bees to gardens.

Like many plants in the Solanaceae, "Iochroma " species contain phytochemicals with potential pharmaceutical value but the genus has not been exhaustively studied in this respect. "Iochroma fuchsioides" is taken by the medicine men of the Kamsa Indians in the Colombian Andes for difficult diagnoses the unpleasant side effects lasting several days (Schultes & Hoffman 1992). A variety of withanolides (Alfonso et al 1993) and hydroxycinnamic acid amides (Sattar et al 1990) have been isolated from "Iochroma" species.

The family Solanaceae is further divided into subfamilies, tribes and subtribes. "Iochroma" is in the subtribe Iochrominae along with the genera "Acnistus", "Dunalia", "Eriolarynx", "Saracha", and "Vassobia".

Species

The genus "Iochroma" is not completely known. Several of the species listed here are known to have resulted from hybridisation in the wild and there is extensive synonymy which is not recorded here. Recent research indicates that some of the species listed here are not "Iochroma" (see notes) although changes in nomenclature have not formally been published. There are also known to be undescribed species.

The genus is currently divided into 3 sections.

Section Iochroma
*"Iochroma albianthum" S. Leiva
*"Iochroma australe" Grisebach (see notes)
*"Iochroma ayabacense" S. Leiva
*"Iochroma calycinum" Bentham
*"Iochroma confertiflorum" (Miers) Hunziker
*"Iochroma cornifolium" Miers
*"Iochroma cyaneum" (Lindley) M. L. Green
*"Iochroma edule" S. Leiva
*"Iochroma fuchsioides" Miers
*"Iochroma gesnerioides" (Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth) Miers
*"Iochroma grandiflorum" Bentham
*"Iochroma loxense" Miers
*"Iochroma nitidum" S. Leiva & V. Quipuscoa
*"Iochroma peruvianum" (Dunal) J. F. Macbride
*"Iochroma piuram" S. Leiva
*"Iochroma sagasteguii" sp. nov. ined.
*"Iochroma salpoanum" S. Leiva & P. Lezama
*"Iochroma schjellerupii" S. Leiva & Quipuscoa
*"Iochroma squamosum" S. Leiva & V. Quipuscoa
*"Iochroma stenanthum" S. Leiva, V. Quipuscoa & N. W. Sawyer
*"Iochroma tingoense" sp. nov. ined.
*"Iochroma tupayachianum" S. Leiva
*"Iochroma umbellatum" (Ruiz & Pavon) D'Arcy

Section Lehmannia
*"Iochroma ellipticum" (Hook.f.) Hunziker
*"Iochroma lehmannii" Bitter

Section Spinosa
*"Iochroma cardenasianum" Hunziker (see notes)
*"Iochroma parvifolium" (Roemer & Schultes) D’Arcy (see notes)

Notes:

"Iochroma australe" is not an "Iochroma" but an "Eriolarynx". Occuring in Bolivia and Argentina this is the southernmost species of "Iochroma" and its removal from the genus affects the geographic range as indicated above.

"Iochroma cardenasianum" is not an "Iochroma" and not a member of the tribe Physaleae (incl. subtribe Iochrominae) but the tribe Datureae.

"Iochroma parviflorum" is not an "Iochroma" but a "Dunalia".

Iochromas as ornamentals

Several forms of Iochroma (some wild collected, some garden hybrids) have been given cultivar names. Some of the cultivars have been assigned to species but others, mainly hybrids, have not. There may be some synonymy in this list.

*"Iochroma australe" ‘Andean Snow’
*"Iochroma australe" ‘Bill Evans’
*"Iochroma australe" ‘Sunrise’
*"Iochroma calycinum" ‘Vlasta’s Surprise’
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Album’
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Apricot Belle’
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Indigo’
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Karl Hartweg’
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘John Miers’
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Royal Blue’,
*"Iochroma cyaneum" 'Royal Queen' = "I. cyaneum" 'Indigo'
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Sky King’,
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Trebah’
*"Iochroma cyaneum" ‘Woodcote White’
*"Iochroma gesnerioides" ‘Coccineum’
*"Iochroma gesnerioides" var. "flavum"

*"Iochroma" ‘Ashcott Red’
*"Iochroma" ‘Burgundy Bells’
*"Iochroma" ‘Frosty Plum’
*"Iochroma" ‘Ilie’s Plum’
*"Iochroma" ‘Plum Beauty’
*"Iochroma" ‘Plum Delight’
*"Iochroma" ‘Purple Haze’
*"Iochroma" 'Ruby Red' ("I. cyaneum" 'Royal Blue' x "I". 'Sunset')
*"Iochroma" ‘Sunset’
*"Iochroma" ‘Wine Red’

Main Sources.

*Shaw, J. M. H. (1998) A Review of Iochroma in Cultivation. New Plantsman 5(3): 154-192.
*Smith, S. D. and Baum D. A. (2006) Phylogenetics Of The Florally Diverse Andean Clade Iochrominae (Solanaceae). American Journal Of Botany 93(8): 1140–1153.

Other references

*Sattar, E. A., Glasl, H., Nahrstedt, A., Hilal, S. H., Zaki, A. Y. and El Zalabani, S. M. H. (1990). Hydroxycinnamic acid amides from Iochroma cyaneum. Phytochemistry 29 (12) : 3931 - 3933.
*Alfonso, D., Bernardinelli, G. and Kapetanidis, I. (1993). Withanolides from Iochroma coccineum. Phytochemistry 34 (2) : 517 - 521.
*Schultes, R. E. and Hoffman, A. (1992). Plants of the Gods. Their sacred, healing and hallucinogenic powers. Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont. p. 46.

External links

aut|Constantine, D. R. (2008): Iochroma - an annotated list of the species and cultivars [http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drc/iochroma_home.htm]