Lithospermum is a genus of plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae. The genus is distributed nearly worldwide, but most are native to the Americas and the center of diversity is in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Species are known generally as gromwells or stoneseeds.
Taxonomy Plants of the World Online currently accepts 84 species.Lithospermum L. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 27 July 2024. Other sources accept about 50 to 60 species in the genus.Cohen, J. I., (2012). American Journal of Botany 99(5), 797–805. A 2009 molecular study showed that the genus Onosmodium is included within Lithospermum.
Species 84 species are accepted.GRIN Species Records of Lithospermum. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).Lithospermum. USDA Plants: North American species.
Lithospermum affine Lithospermum afromontanum Lithospermum album Lithospermum altamiranense Lithospermum astienzae Lithospermum azuayense Weigend, M., et al. (2010). Five new species of Lithospermum L.(Boraginaceae tribe Lithospermeae) in Andean South America: another radiation in the Amotape-Huancabamba zone. Taxon 59(4), 1161–1179. Lithospermum barbigerum Lithospermum berlandieri Lithospermum bolivariense Lithospermum calcicola Lithospermum californicum – California stoneseed Lithospermum calycosum – Chinati stoneseed or roundleaf stoneseed Lithospermum canescens – hoary puccoon, Indian-paint Lithospermum caroliniense – Carolina gromwell, hairy puccoon Lithospermum caroliniense var. caroliniense (synonym Lithospermum bejariense ) – western marbleseed Lithospermum caroliniense var. croceum Lithospermum chiapense Lithospermum chihuahuanum Lithospermum cinerascens Lithospermum cinereum Lithospermum cobrense – smooththroat stoneseed Lithospermum confine – Arizona stoneseed Lithospermum confundum Lithospermum cuneifolium Lithospermum cuzcoense Lithospermum decipiens Lithospermum discolor Lithospermum distichum Lithospermum diversifolium Lithospermum dodrantale Lithospermum elenae Lithospermum erythrorhizon – purple gromwell, red-root gromwell, 紫草 zicao (Pinyin: zǐcǎo), (Japanese) Lithospermum exsertum Lithospermum flavum Lithospermum flexuosum Lithospermum gayanum Lithospermum guatemalense Lithospermum hancockianum Lithospermum helleri Lithospermum hirsutum Lithospermum incisum – narrowleaf stoneseed, fringed gromwell Lithospermum indecorum Lithospermum ireneae Lithospermum jimulcense Lithospermum johnstonii Lithospermum kelloggianum Lithospermum latifolium – American stoneseed Lithospermum leonotis Lithospermum leymebambense Lithospermum macbridei Lithospermum matamorense – rough stoneseed Lithospermum mediale Lithospermum mirabile – San Antonio stoneseed or Parks' stoneseed Lithospermum molle – softhair marbleseed Lithospermum muelleri Lithospermum multiflorum – manyflowered stoneseed Lithospermum nelsonii Lithospermum notatum Lithospermum oaxacanum Lithospermum oblongifolium Lithospermum obovatum Lithospermum occidentale Lithospermum officinale – common gromwell, European stoneseed Lithospermum papillosum Lithospermum parviflorum – eastern prairie marbleseed Lithospermum peruvianum Lithospermum pinetorum Lithospermum pringlei Lithospermum revolutum Lithospermum rodriguezii Lithospermum rosei Lithospermum ruderale – western stoneseed, Columbia puccoon, wayside gromwell, whiteweed Lithospermum rzedowskii Lithospermum scabrum Lithospermum strictum Lithospermum subsetosum Lithospermum sylvestre Lithospermum tenerum Lithospermum thurberi Lithospermum trinervium Lithospermum tuberosum – southern stoneseed, tuberous gromwell Lithospermum tubuliflorum Lithospermum turneri Lithospermum unicum Lithospermum virginianum Lithospermum viride – green stoneseed
Formerly placed here Aegonychon purpurocaeruleum (as Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum ) – purple gromwell Buglossoides arvensis (as Lithospermum arvense ) – field gromwell, corn gromwell
Ecology Lithospermum leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of certain Lepidoptera, such as the moth Ethmia pusiella which has been recorded on L. officinale.
Uses The dried root of Lithospermum erythrorhizon is a Chinese herbal medicine with various antiviral and biological activities, including inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).Chen, X., et al. (2003). Shikonin, a component of Chinese herbal medicine, inhibits chemokine receptor function and suppresses human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 47(9), 2810–2816.Gao, H., et al. (2011). Anti-adenovirus activities of shikonin, a component of Chinese herbal medicine in vitro. Biol Pharm Bull. 34(2) 197–202. Lithospermum erythrorhizon is native to Japan, where it has been traditionally used to make a purple dye. In southwestern North America, a species of this genus was used as a contraceptive by the Shoshone Native American tribe.
Fossil record Seven petrified nutlets and nutlet fragments of a Lithospermum species have been described from the Late Miocene Ash Hollow Formation, Ogallala Group, five km south of Martin in Bennett County, South Dakota. †Lithospermum dakotense sp. nov. shows similarities in size, shape, attachment and epidermal cell patterns to extant Lithospermum species. The fossil nutlets were preserved in various stages of maturity. The fossils closely resemble the nutlets of Lithospermum caroliniense and Lithospermum incisum.Amer. J. Bot. 74(11): 1690-1693. 1987. A Fossil Lithospermum (Boraginaceae) from the Tertiary of South Dakota by Mark L. Gabel
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