Antirrhinum is a genus of plants in the Plantaginaceae family, commonly known as dragon flowers or snapdragons because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are also sometimes called toadflax[1] or dog flower.[2] They are native to rocky areas of Europe, the United States, Canada, and North Africa. Antirrhinum species are widely used as ornamental plants in borders and as cut flowers.[3]
| Antirrhinum Temporal range: Recent
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|---|---|
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| Antirrhinum majus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Tribe: | Antirrhineae |
| Genus: | Antirrhinum L. |
| Type species | |
| Antirrhinum majus | |
| Sections | |
| |
Description
editThe Antirrhinum is morphologically diverse, particularly the New World group (Saerorhinum).[4] The genus is characterized by personate flowers with an inferior gibbous corolla.[clarification needed]
Taxonomy
editAntirrhinum used to be treated within the family Scrophulariaceae, but studies of DNA sequences have led to its inclusion in a vastly enlarged family Plantaginaceae, within the tribe Antirrhineae.
Circumscription
editThe taxonomy of this genus is complex and not yet fully resolved at present. In particular the exact circumscription of the genus, especially the inclusion of the New World species (Saerorhinum), is contentious.[4] The situation is further complicated by the variety of terms in use for infrageneric ranks, especially of the Old World species, that is Antirrhinum, sensu stricto (e.g. Streptosepalum, Kicksiella, Meonantha).
The USDA Plants Database recognises only two species: A. majus (the garden snapdragon), the only species naturalised in North America, and A. bellidifolium (the lilac snapdragon), now considered to be Anarrhinum bellidifolium (L.) Willd.[5] There are 23 accepted species.[6]
A widely accepted scheme (Thompson 1988) placed 36 species in the genus in three sections. While many botanists accepted this broad circumscription (sensu lato), whose main departure from other classifications was the inclusion of the New World Saerorhinum,[7] others did not, restricting the genus to the Old World. (For a comparison of Thompson with earlier systems, see Oyama and Baum, Table 1.) New species also continue to be discovered (see e.g. Romo et al., 1995).
In 2004 research into the molecular systematics of this group and related species by Oyama and Baum confirmed that the genus sensu lato as described by Thompson is monophyletic, provided that one species (A. cyathiferum) is removed to the separate genus Pseudorontium, and the two species of Mohavea (Mohavea confertiflora and M. breviflora) are included. The species list given here follows these conclusions.[4]
This is the broad circumscription that includes the Old World Misopates and New World Sairocarpus. By contrast the narrow circumscription (sensu stricto) confines the genus to the monophyletic Old World perennial species with a diploid chromosome number of 16, distributed in the Mediterranean basin, approximately 25 species.,[8] following the phylogenetic analysis of Vargas et al. (2004) suggesting they are a distinct group. Both Misopates and Sairocarpus are accepted names in The Plant List, and many of the New World species now have Sairocarpus as their accepted name, rather than Antirrhinum. It has been proposed that many of the New World Antirrhinum be now considered under Sairocarpus, in the forthcoming Flora of North America.[9]
Infrageneric subdivision
editIt is widely agreed that this broad group should be subdivided into three or four subgroups, but the level at which this should be done, and exactly which species should be grouped together, remain unclear. Some authors continue to follow Thompson in using a large genus Antirrhinum, which is then divided into several sections; others treat Thompson's genus as a tribe or subtribe, and divide it into several genera. For a comparison of earlier schemes see Mateu-Andrés and de Paco, Table 1 (2005)[10]
If the broad circumscription is accepted, its three sections as described by Thompson are as follows (two Old World, one New):
- Section Antirrhinum: 19 Old World species of relatively large flowered perennial plants, including the type species Antirrhinum majus, mostly native to the western Mediterranean region with a focus on the Iberian Peninsula. Chromosomes n=8. (3 subsections: Majora, Sicula, Hispanica)
- Section Orontium: two species, also from the Mediterranean. Chromosome number=8. The species in this section, including the section type species Antirrhinum orontium (lesser snapdragon) are often treated in the genus Misopates.
- Section Saerorhinum: 15 small flowered New World species, mostly annual plants and mostly native to California, though species are found from Oregon to Baja California Sur and as far east as Utah. Tetraploid (n=15-16). Like other authors, Thompson placed A. cyathiferum in this section, but Oyama and Baum, following earlier authors, suggest that it should be reclassified in genus Pseudorontium, while Mohavea should be included. Vargas et al., strongly recommending segregation of the New World species suggest that the 14 species originally recognised by Sutton (1988) more properly belong to Sairocarpus (11 species), Howelliella (1 species), and Neogarrhinum (2 species). Other authors would also include Galvezia glabrata, Galvezia juncea, Galvezia rupicola and Galvezia speciosa.[1] None of the names originally allocated to this section are now accepted.
Snapdragons
editWhile Antirrhinum majus is the plant that is usually meant by the term of "snapdragon" if used on its own, many other species in the genus, and in the family Scrophulariaceae more widely, have common names that include the word "snapdragon". For example, Antirrhinum molle is known as "dwarf snapdragon" in the UK.[11]
Species
editThe following species are recognised in the genus Antirrhinum:[6]
- Antirrhinum australe Rothm.
- Antirrhinum barrelieri Boreau
- Antirrhinum × bilbilitanum Güemes & Mateo
- Antirrhinum braun-blanquetii Rothm.
- Antirrhinum charidemi Lange
- Antirrhinum × chavannesii Rothm.
- Antirrhinum cirrhigerum (Welw. ex Ficalho) Rothm.
- Antirrhinum controversum Pau
- Antirrhinum × ferrandopardoi P.P.Ferrer
- Antirrhinum graniticum Rothm.
- Antirrhinum grosii Font Quer
- Antirrhinum hispanicum Chav.
- Antirrhinum × inexpectans P.P.Ferrer, R.Roselló, E.Laguna & Güemes
- Antirrhinum × kretschmeri Rothm.
- Antirrhinum latifolium Mill.
- Antirrhinum linkianum Boiss. & Reut.
- Antirrhinum majus L.
- Antirrhinum martenii (Font Quer) Rothm.
- Antirrhinum meonanthum Hoffmanns. & Link
- Antirrhinum microphyllum Rothm.
- Antirrhinum molle L.
- Antirrhinum × montserratii Molero & Romo
- Antirrhinum pertegasii Rothm.
- Antirrhinum pulverulentum Lázaro Ibiza
- Antirrhinum rothmaleri (P.Silva) Amich, Bernardos & García-Barriuso
- Antirrhinum sempervirens Lapeyr.
- Antirrhinum siculum Mill.
- Antirrhinum tortuosum Bosc ex Lam.
- Antirrhinum valentinum Font Quer
Etymology
editThe name "Antirrhinum" is derived from the Greek ἀντίρρινον antirrhinon which in turn is derived from ἀντί anti "opposite, counterfeiting", and ῥίς rhis "nose" (GEN ῥινόϛ rhinos); from its resemblance to an animal's mouth.[12]
Ecology
editSnapdragons are short-lived perennial plants that survive well in cold seasons but are often replanted each spring and considered annual plants. They do best in full or partial sun, in well-drained soil since their roots are susceptible to rotting (although they do require regular watering[13]). They are classified commercially as a range of heights: midget or dwarf (15–20 cm or 6–8 in), medium (40–75 cm or 15–30 in) and tall (75–120 cm or 30–48 in). Removing the dead flowers, referred to as deadheading, is important to help them to continuously produce beautiful flowers throughout their growing season. They are susceptible to ethylene gas, so removing dead flowers and keeping them away from ripe fruits or vegetables also helps them bloom longer.[14] They grow during their peak seasons of April to June and August to October in the Northern Hemisphere[14] and bloom in a variety of colors such as white, yellow, orange, red, purple, pink,[15] including multicolored patterns.[16]
They are ecologically diverse, particularly the New World species (Saerorhinum).[4]
Cultivation
editThe snapdragon is an important garden plant, widely cultivated from tropical to temperate zones as a bedding, rockery, herbaceous border or container plant.[8] Cultivars have showy white, crimson, or yellow bilabiate flowers (with two lips). It is also important as a model organism in botanical research, and its genome has been studied in detail.
Genetic studies
editAntirrhinum is a genus that has been used from the earliest genetic studies of Gregor Mendel and Charles Darwin and was used as a model by Erwin Baur.[8] Together with closely related genera, it has become a model organism for the investigation of the genetic basis of plant development, particularly floral development.[4][17] The genus is a typical example of incomplete dominance by the red allele with the anthocyanin pigment. Any cross between red-flowered and white-flowered snapdragons, give an intermediate and heterozygous phenotype with pink flowers, that carries both the dominant and recessive alleles.[18]
Several species of Antirrhinum are self-incompatible, meaning that a plant cannot be fertilised by its own pollen.[19] Self-incompatibility in the genus has been studied since the early 1900s.[19] Self-incompatibility in Antirrhinum species is controlled gametophytically and shares many important features with self-incompatibility systems in Rosaceae and Solanaceae.[20]
Uses
editIn addition to growing the plants for cut flowers, the seeds have been used to extract edible oils, particularly in Russia, while the leaves and flowers have been considered to possess antiphlogistic (anti-inflammatory) properties and have been used in poultices. A green dye has also been extracted from the flowers.[8]
Gallery
edit-
Yellow snapdragon flower -
Antirrhinum majus flower -
Pink snapdragon flower -
Antirrhinum majus flower -
Pink snapdragon flower -
White snapdragon flower -
Yellow snapdragon flower -
Antirrhinum majus flower -
Variety in Pakistan -
Variety in Pakistan -
Yellow snapdragon flower -
Pink snapdragon flower -
White snapdragon flower -
Yellow snapdragon flower -
Pink snapdragon flower -
White snapdragon flower -
Antirrhinum majus flower -
Variety in Pakistan -
Yellow snapdragon flower -
Variety in Pakistan -
Variety in Pakistan -
Yellow snapdragon flower -
Pink snapdragon flower -
White snapdragon flower -
Yellow snapdragon flower -
Pink snapdragon flower -
Antirrhinum in Pakistan -
Snapdragon cultivar in India
References
edit- ^ a b Fernández-Mazuecos, Mario; Blanco-Pastor, José Luis; Vargas, Pablo (2013). "A Phylogeny of Toadflaxes (Linaria Mill.) Based on Nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer Sequences: Systematic and Evolutionary Consequences". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 174 (2): 234–249. doi:10.1086/668790. JSTOR 10.1086/668790. S2CID 85302392.
- ^ "Antirrhinum majus - Dog Flower". www.flowersofindia.net. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
- ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
- ^ a b c d e Oyama, R. K.; Baum, D. A. (2004). "Phylogenetic relationships of North American Antirrhinum (Veronicaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 91 (6): 918–925. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.6.918. PMID 21653448.
- ^ "Plants Profile for Antirrhinum (snapdragon)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b "Antirrhinum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ Thompson, D. M. (1988). Systematics of Antirrhinum (Scrophulariaceae) in the New World. Systematic Botany Monographs 22.
- ^ a b c d Tolety, J; Sane, A (2011). "Antirrhinum". In Kole, C (ed.). Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources. Plantation and Ornamental Crops. Springer. pp. 1–14.
- ^ Barringer, Kerry (2013-05-20). "New combinations in Sairocarpus (Plantaginaceae)" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 2013 (34): 1–3. ISSN 2153-733X. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- ^ Mateu-Andrés, I.; De Paco, Lorena (Feb 1, 2005). "Allozymic Differentiation of the Antirrhinum majus and A. siculum Species Groups". Annals of Botany. 95 (3): 465–473. doi:10.1093/aob/mci055. PMC 4246802. PMID 15596453 – via academic.oup.com.
- ^ "Antirrhinum molle. dwarf snapdragon". rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ "Antirrhinum". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ "Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)". Sunset Magazine. Sep 22, 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b "Snapdragon information from Flowers.org.uk". www.flowers.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ^ Heather, Molly (2023-07-09). "Pink Snapdragon Flowers: Ultimate Guide to Growing & Caring These Beautiful Blooms". organicgardeningeek.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- ^ "Antirrhinum majus - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ^ Wilson, Yvette (2011). "The evolutionary history of Antirrhinum suggests that ancestral phenotype combinations survived repeated hybridizations". The Plant Journal. 66 (6): 1032–1043. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313X.2011.04563.x. PMID 21435047. S2CID 26113532.
- ^ Hartl, Daniel L.; Elizabeth W. Jones (2005). Genetics : analysis of genes and genomes (sixth ed.). Jones & Bartlett publishers. pp. 3.6 Incomplete Dominance and Epistasis. ISBN 978-0-7637-1511-3.
- ^ a b Xue, Yongbiao; Rosemary Carpenter; Hugh G. Dickinson; Enrico S. Coen (May 1996). "Origin of allelic diversity in antirrhinum S locus RNases". The Plant Cell. 8 (5): 805–814. doi:10.2307/3870283. JSTOR 3870283. PMC 161139. PMID 8672882.
- ^ Takayama, Seiji; Akira Isogai (2005). "Self-incompatibility in plants". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 56: 467–489. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.56.032604.144249. PMID 15862104. S2CID 1196223.
Sources
edit- Sutton, D.A. (1988) A Revision of the Tribe Antirrhineae. Oxford: OUP.
- Rothmaler W. 1956. Taxonomische Monographie der Gattung Antirrhinum. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
- Romo, A.; Stubing, G.; Peris, J. B. (1995). "A new species of Antirrhinum (Scrophulariaceae) from North Morocco". Annales Botanici Fennici. 32: 165–168.
- Albach, D. C.; Meudt, H. M.; Oxelman, B. (2005). "Piecing together the "new" Plantaginaceae". American Journal of Botany. 92 (2): 297–315. doi:10.3732/ajb.92.2.297. PMID 21652407.
- Doaigey, A. R.; Harkiss, K. J. (December 1991). "Application of epidermal characters to the taxonomy of European species of Antirrhinum (Scrophulariaceae)". Nordic Journal of Botany. 11 (5): 513–524. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.1991.tb01258.x.
- Vargas, P.; Rosselló, J. A.; Oyama, R.; Gũemes, J. (2004). "Molecular evidence for naturalness of genera in the tribe Antirrhineae (Scrophulariaceae) and three independent evolutionary lineages from the New World and the Old" (PDF). Plant Systematics and Evolution. 249 (3–4): 151–172. Bibcode:2004PSyEv.249..151V. doi:10.1007/s00606-004-0216-1. ISSN 0378-2697. S2CID 20328396.
External links
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