Corydalis (from Greek korydalís "crested lark") is a genus of about 540 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical eastern Africa. They are most diverse in China and the Himalayas, with at least 357 species in China. Corydalis spp. are the only dicots having only a single cotyledon (seed leaf).
Ecology
Corydalis species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species (butterflies), especially the clouded Apollo.
Toxicity
Corydalis cava and some other tuberous species contain the alkaloid bulbocapnine, which is occasionally used in medicine but scientific evidence is lacking in the correct dosages and side effects.2
Many of the species in Corydalis contain other toxins and alkaloids like canadine, which blocks calcium. The species C. caseana is poisonous to livestock.3
Taxonomy
Current species
Main article: List of Corydalis species
There are about 540 species, including:
- Corydalis ambigua
- Corydalis aurea
- Corydalis buschii
- Corydalis bracteata
- Corydalis cava
- Corydalis caseana
- Corydalis cheilanthifolia – ferny corydalis
- Corydalis chelidoniifolia
- Corydalis darwasica
- Corydalis elegans
- Corydalis filistipes
- Corydalis flavula
- Corydalis flexuosa
- Corydalis heterocarpa
- Corydalis incisa
- Corydalis integra
- Corydalis linstowiana
- Corydalis micrantha
- Corydalis nobilis
- Corydalis ochotensis
- Corydalis omeiana
- Corydalis orthoceras
- Corydalis palaestina4
- Corydalis pallida
- Corydalis pauciflora
- Corydalis pauciovulata
- Corydalis rutifolia
- Corydalis saxicola
- Corydalis scouleri
- Corydalis solida – fumewort
- Corydalis vittae
- Corydalis wilsonii
- Corydalis yanhusuo
Former species
Several former Corydalis have been moved to new genera:
Pseudofumaria- Corydalis lutea = Pseudofumaria lutea – yellow corydalis
- Corydalis ochroleuca = Pseudofumaria alba
- Corydalis sempervirens = Capnoides sempervirens
References
V.H. Heywood Ph.D., ed. (1978). Flowering Plants of the World. New York: Mayflower Books. p. 53. ISBN 0-8317-3400-0. 0-8317-3400-0 ↩
"CORYDALIS". WebMD. Retrieved 21 October 2014. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-415-CORYDALIS.aspx?activeIngredientId=415&activeIngredientName=CORYDALIS ↩
Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 556. ISBN 0-394-73127-1. 0-394-73127-1 ↩
"Corydalis palaestina (Boiss.) Prantl & Kündig | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:672410-1 ↩