Callisia fragrans

Callisia fragrans
	Sarchí Norte, Costa Rica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Commelinales
Family:	Commelinaceae
Genus:	Callisia
Species:	C. fragrans
Binomial name
	Callisia fragrans; (Lindl.) Woodson
Synonyms
	Spironema orthandrum Lindb.; Rectanthera fragrans (Lindl.) O. Deg.; Spironema fragrans Lindl.;

Callisia fragrans, sometimes called the false bromeliad or false bromeliad plant, is a flowering plant species of the genus Callisia, in the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae that is native to Mexico.^[1]

Description

A robust, perennial herbaceous plant, the fleshy stem of Callisia fragrans can grow to a height of 1.5 m (4.9 ft). The leaves are 25 cm (9.8 in) long and become burgundy-violet if exposed to more prolonged sunlight (an example of "sun-stressing").

Flowering shoots are bromeliad-like, vigorous, and covered with almost rosette-like leaves. They are sparsely branched. Long, fairly slender, distichous stolons emerge from the lower nodes. The leaves of flowering shoots are up to 30 centimeters long and 7 centimeters wide. They are bright light green, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, pointed, almost stem-clasping, and usually glabrous.

Inflorescence

The almost sessile, small white flowers are fragrant, which occur from late winter to spring.^[3] The spreading inflorescence consists of terminal panicles with crowded branches. The sessile, paired whorls are borne on papery bracts up to 2 centimeters long. heir bristly sepals are 3.5 to 5 millimeters long and 1.5 to 2 millimeters wide.

The lanceolate to ovate, white petals have no flat blade. They are 5 to 6 millimeters long and 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters wide. The six long, protruding, white stamens are more conspicuous than the petals. Their connectives are membranous. The stigma is brush-shaped.^[4]^[5]

Range and cultivation

Callisia fragrans, also called golden tendril is endemic to Mexico (from Tamaulipas to Yucatán), and naturalized in the West Indies, scattered locations in the United States, and a few other places.^[2]^[6] It has been cultivated in many countries as an indoor ornamental since the early 1900s.^[7] However, it can be also found growing outdoors in warmer climates in moist, fertile soil. The herb likes partially shaded areas.

Medicinal properties

It has a rich traditional reputation in Mexico as an antiviral and antimicrobial plant. In Eastern Europe, its leaves are used for the treatment of various skin diseases, burns and joint disorders.^[7] An ethanol leaf extract (tincture) has been shown to effectively inhibit the infection of Vero cells by HSV-1, HSV-2 and an ACV-resistant strain of the latter, in vitro. However, the ethanol extract, as opposed to an aquatic extract, was ineffective against VZV.^[7]

Though the ethanol leaf extract had a lower selectivity index (toxicity vs. effectiveness) than ACV, it was able to inhibit the HSV-2 mutant, and may be less toxic than ACV. Direct interaction with the viruses, and the blocking of their access to l host cells, seems to be involved.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "Plants database". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
^ Callisia fragrans (Lindl.) Woodson by PlantNET. Retrieved 11 May, 2025.
^ Klaus Kubitzki; H. Huber; P.J. Rudall; P.S. Stevens (1998). Flowering Plants. Monocotyledons: Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae). Springer. p. 89. ISBN 3-540-64061-4.
^ "POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL WEEDS IN AUSTRALIA" (PDF). NATIONAL WEEDS PROGRAM. Queensland Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
^ "Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth Facilities". University of Connecticut.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Yarmolinsky, Ludmila; Zaccai, Michele; Ben-Shabat, Shimon; Huleihel, Mahmoud (4 June 2010). "Anti-Herpetic Activity of Callissia fragrans and Simmondsia chinensis Leaf Extracts In Vitro". The Open Virology Journal. 4 (1): 57–62. doi:10.2174/1874357901004010057. PMC 2918872. PMID 20700398.

External links

Media related to Callisia fragrans at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Callisia fragrans at Wikispecies

[plants.usda-1] "Plants database". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

[n-2] Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

[3] Callisia fragrans (Lindl.) Woodson by PlantNET. Retrieved 11 May, 2025.

[4] Klaus Kubitzki; H. Huber; P.J. Rudall; P.S. Stevens (1998). Flowering Plants. Monocotyledons: Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae). Springer. p. 89. ISBN 3-540-64061-4.

[5] "POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL WEEDS IN AUSTRALIA" (PDF). NATIONAL WEEDS PROGRAM. Queensland Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2011-05-16.

[6] "Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth Facilities". University of Connecticut.

[yar-7] Yarmolinsky, Ludmila; Zaccai, Michele; Ben-Shabat, Shimon; Huleihel, Mahmoud (4 June 2010). "Anti-Herpetic Activity of Callissia fragrans and Simmondsia chinensis Leaf Extracts In Vitro". The Open Virology Journal. 4 (1): 57–62. doi:10.2174/1874357901004010057. PMC 2918872. PMID 20700398.

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