| Scopolia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scopolia carniolica | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Subfamily: | Solanoideae |
| Tribe: | Hyoscyameae |
| Genus: | Scopolia Lam. |
| Species | |
|
Scopolia carniolica | |
Scopolia is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, native to Europe and Asia. The genus is named after Giovanni Scopoli (1723–88), a Tyrolean naturalist. The genus has a disjunct distribution, with two recognised species in Central to Eastern Europe, (including the Caucasus), and two species in East Asia. The two European species are:
- Scopolia carniolica Jacq. of Slovenia, Austria and the Carpathian Mountains
- Scopolia caucasica Kolesn. ex Kreyer of the Caucasus
and the two Asiatic species are:
The four species in the equally medicinal genus Anisodus
- Anisodus tanguticus (Maxim.) Pascher
- Anisodus luridus Link ex Spreng.
- Anisodus carniolicoides (C.Y.Wu & C.Chen) D'Arcy & Z.Y.Zhang
- Anisodus acutangulus C.Y.Wu & C.Chen
have in the past been placed in the genus Scopolia, as has the monotypic genus Atropanthe with its single species Atropanthe sinensis Pascher.[1]
Scopolia carniolica - the longest-known species and the one with the westernmost distribution - is a creeping perennial plant, with light green leaves and dull reddish-purple flowers (cream-to-yellow in the attractive and more ornamental form hladnikiana, sometimes cultivated as a decorative plant). Extract of Scopolia (which contains a form of the alkaloid scopolamine) is used in at least one commercial stomach remedy (Inosea, produced by Sato Pharmaceutical). The extract is an anti-spasmodic in low doses and may be used to relax smooth muscle tissue or prevent motion-sickness-induced nausea; in higher doses, it is a poison having hallucinogenic and memory-inhibiting effects.
Other alkaloids found in Scopolia carniolica include cuscohygrine, hyoscyamine, and atroscine.
The coumarin phenylpropanoids umbelliferone and scopoletin have been isolated from the roots of Scopolia japonica.