Mesembryanthemum tortuosum

Kanna
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Aizoaceae
Genus: Mesembryanthemum
Species:
M. tortuosum
Binomial name
Mesembryanthemum tortuosum
Synonyms[1]
  • Mesembryanthemum aridum Moench
  • Mesembryanthemum concavum Haw.
  • Phyllobolus tortuosus (L.) Bittrich
  • Sceletium boreale L.Bolus
  • Sceletium compactum L.Bolus
  • Sceletium concavum (Haw.) Schwantes
  • Sceletium framesii L.Bolus
  • Sceletium gracile L.Bolus
  • Sceletium joubertii L.Bolus
  • Sceletium namaquense L.Bolus
  • Sceletium ovatum L.Bolus
  • Sceletium tortuosum (L.) N.E.Br.
  • Sceletium tugwelliae L.Bolus

Mesembryanthemum tortuosum (many synonyms, including Sceletium tortuosum) is a succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.[1] It is known as the Namaqua skeletonfig, kanna, channa, kougoed (kauwgoed/ 'kougoed', prepared from 'fermenting' M. tortuosum[2])—which literally means, 'chew(able) things' or 'something to chew'.

Eight species related to M. tortuosum have also been placed in the genus Sceletium: M. crassicaule, M. emarcidum, M. exalatum, M. expansum, M. archeri (S. rigidum), M. ladismithiense (S. strictum), M. tortuosum and M. varians.[3]

  1. ^ a b c "Mesembryanthemum tortuosum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. ^ Smith, M. T.; Field C. R.; Crouch N. R.; Hirst, M. (1998). "The Distribution of Mesembrine Alkaloids in Selected Taxa of the Mesembryanthemaceae and their Modification in the Sceletium Derived 'Kougoed'" (PDF). Pharmaceutical Biology. 36 (3): 173–179. doi:10.1076/phbi.36.3.173.6350.
  3. ^ Harvey, A. L.; Young, L. C.; Viljoen, A. M.; Gericke, N. P. (2011). "Pharmacological Actions of the South African Medicinal and Functional Food Plant Sceletium tortuosum and its Principal Alkaloids" (PDF). Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 137 (3): 1124–1129. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2011.07.035. PMID 21798331. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-30.