Stephania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae. It includes 70 species native to tropical and southern Africa, eastern and southern Asia, Australia, and the tropical Pacific Islands. They are herbaceous perennial vines, growing to around four metres tall, with a large tuber. The leaves are arranged spirally on the stem and are peltate, with the leaf petiole attached near the centre of the leaf. The name Stephania comes from the Greek word for 'crown'. It refers to the anthers being arranged in a crown-like manner.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 70 species:

1. Fossil species

2. Stephania palaeosudamericana Herrera et al.

3. Formerly placed here

4. Stephania tetrandra – now Botryodiscia tetrandra

Toxicity

There is evidence that a few species of Stephania are toxic.

Chemistry

Chemical investigation of Stephania rotunda Lour. growing in Vietnam in 2005 led to the isolation and structural elucidation of three new alkaloids, 5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one, thaicanine 4-O-beta-D-glucoside, as well as (−)-thaicanine N-oxide (4-hydroxycorynoxidine), along with 23 known alkaloids.

References

External links

• Introduction to Rotundine

• Flora of China:

• Flora of Nepal: