Genus of plants in the family Rutaceae from southern Africa
"Buchu" redirects here. For the onion-related plant called "Buchu" in Korean, see Garlic chives. For the character in Yie Ar Kung-Fu, see Yie Ar Kung-Fu § Characters.
Agathosma is a genus of about 140 species of flowering plants in the familyRutaceae, native to the southern part of Africa. Common names include buchu, boegoe, bucco, bookoo and diosma. Buchu formally denotes two herbal species, prized for their fragrance and medicinal use despite their toxicity. In colloquial use however, the term (see Boegoe) is applied to a wider set of fragrant shrubs or substitutes.
They are small shrubs and subshrubs, mostly with erect woody stems reaching 30–100 cm (1' to 3') tall, but low-growing and prostrate in some species. The leaves are usually opposite, ericoid, often crowded, simple, entire, from 0.5-3.5 cm (¼" to 1½") long. The flowers are produced in terminal clusters, 0.7–2 cm (¼" to ¾") diameter, with five white, pink, red or purple, petals.
Many of the species are highly aromatic, and the genus name means "good fragrance". Some species of the genus are used as herbal remedies.
Two species of Agathosma endemic to the Western Cape mountains of South Africa and colloquially referred to as "buchu" are cultivated on a commercial basis for their essential oils, Agathosma betulina and Agathosma crenulata. The leaves of Agathosma betulina have been used in traditional medicine.[medical citation needed] Bottled agathosma infusions were widely sold in English-speaking countries as "buchu tea" in the 1860s and 1870s.
Although demand declined in the 1880s, consumption has continued to the present day; as of 2012, bottled infusions continue to be prepared from agathosma leaves. In addition, traditional buchu tinctures can be prepared by placing leaves and stalks into brandy. "Buchu vinegar", prepared by steeping the leaves and stalks in vinegar, also is a traditional remedy used for example in compresses and also taken internally.[4]
The essential oil is used in the manufacture of flavorings and perfume. There appear to be differences in people's perceptions of the smell, possibly determined genetically, rather than by familiarity or nurture. Some people find the smell to be repulsive, while most find it pleasantly herbal. This is not particularly unusual in reaction to the smells of many aromatic Karoo shrubs.
Gallery
Buchu (Agathosma) being commercially grown in the Groot Winterhoek mountains of the Western Cape
^ abGRIN (March 20, 2008). "Agathosma information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2013. Comment: conserved (nom. cons.) against the homotypic synonym (Vienna ICBN Art. 14.4 & App. III) Bucco J.C.Wendl., nom. rej. & the heterotypic synonym Hartogia L., nom. rej.
^ abThe genus Agathosma as well as the type A. villosa was described and published in Enumeratio plantarum Horti Regii Botanici Berolinensis: continens descriptiones omnium vegetabilium in horto dicto cultorum. 259. 1809. "Name - !Agathosma Willd". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT). Retrieved January 30, 2013. Annotation: nom. cons.; Type Specimens: T: Agathosma villosa (Willd.) Willd.
^N O T E : Click on the hyperlink for "page 259" to read the text by Karl Ludwig Willdenow, Friedrich Karl von Schlechtendal (1809). "Classis V. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA; Genus 291. AGATHOSMA". Enumeratio plantarum Horti Regii Botanici Berolinensis: continens descriptiones omnium vegetabilium in horto dicto cultorum (in Latin). pp. 259–260. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
^Watt, John Mitchell, Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina: The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa 2nd ed Pub. E & S Livingstone 1962
^N O T E : In spite of the fact that A. villosa has been designated as the type species of the genus Agathosma, The Plant List regards it to be a synonym of A. glabrata"TPL, treatment of Agathosma villosa". The Plant List; Version 1. (published on the internet). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and MOBOT. 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
^"TPL, treatment of Agathosma". The Plant List; Version 1. (published on the internet). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and MOBOT. 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
