Coptis quinquefolia

Names and Synonyms

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta within the class Equisetopsida. It is further classified under the subclass Magnoliidae and the order Ranunculales. Finally, it is a member of the family Ranunculaceae and falls under the genus Coptis.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant, known as Coptis quinquefolia, exhibits a specific geographical distribution within the region of Eastern Asia. Its natural range is primarily concentrated in certain parts of the East Asian landscape. Specifically, the species can be found growing in the country of Japan. Additionally, its presence extends to the island of Taiwan. These locations represent the documented habitats for this medicinal species.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Coptis quinquefolia is characterized by its status as a perennial herb, allowing it to persist in its natural habitats over multiple growing seasons. As a long-lived species, it typically develops a robust rhizomatous root system that serves as a primary storage organ for nutrients, facilitating its survival through dormant periods. The plant follows a seasonal cycle, emerging from the soil in the spring to produce its distinctively divided leaves and eventually developing inflorescences for flowering. Throughout its lifecycle, it relies on steady environmental conditions to support its slow growth and gradual expansion via its underground rhizomes, which enable the plant to colonize its specific ecological niches over many years.

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Coptis quinquefolia is characterized by its growth form as a herb, specifically functioning as a non-woody herbaceous plant. It does not exhibit climbing tendencies, as it lacks the structures for being an obligatory, facultative, or self-supporting climber, maintaining instead a stable, upright or spreading herbaceous habit.

Climber :

self-supporting

Growth form :

herb

Woodiness :

non-woody

Reproduction

The reproduction of Coptis quinquefolia culminates in the development of small, distinct fruits that exhibit specific morphological dimensions. These fruits vary in size, with a recorded minimum length of 0.4 cm and a maximum length reaching up to 0.5 cm, maintaining an average length of approximately 0.45 cm. Regarding their width, the fruits range from a minimum of 0.2 cm to a maximum of 0.25 cm, with a mean width measured at 0.225 cm. These precise measurements characterize the fruit structure essential to the plant's reproductive cycle and seed dispersal.

Fruit length max:

0.5 cm

Fruit length mean:

0.45 cm

Fruit length min:

0.4 cm

Fruit width max:

0.25 cm

Fruit width mean:

0.225 cm

Fruit width min:

0.2 cm

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Chemicals

Coptis quinquefolia has 5 reported phytochemicals identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Columbamine, Coptisine, Jatrorrhizine, Palmatine, berberine.

Columbamine

1. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

Coptisine

1. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

Jatrorrhizine

1. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

Palmatine

1. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica

berberine

1. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica