Curculigo

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title: "Curculigo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["curculigo", "asparagales-genera", "pantropical-flora", "taxa-named-by-joseph-gaertner"] description: "Genus of flowering plants" topic_path: "general/curculigo" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curculigo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of flowering plants ::

| image = Curculigo orchioides.jpg | image_caption = Curculigo orchioides | taxon = Curculigo | authority = Gaertn. (1788) | synonyms =

• Aurota Raf. (1837)
• Franquevillea Zoll. ex Miq. (1859)
• Friedmannia Kocyan & Wiland (2016), nom. illeg.
• Heliacme Ravenna (2003)
• Hypoxidia F.Friedmann (1985)
• Molineria Colla (1826)
• Neofriedmannia Kocyan & Wiland (2017) | synonyms_ref =

Curculigo is a flowering plant genus in the family Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.

Curculin is a sweet protein that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of Curculigo latifolia, a plant from Malaysia. Like miraculin, curculin exhibits taste-modifying activity; however, unlike miraculin, it also exhibits a sweet taste by itself. After consumption of curculin, water and sour solutions taste sweet. The plant is referred to locally as lembah or lumbah; English: 'weevil-wort'.

Species

Plants of the World Online includes:

• Curculigo annamitica Gagnep. – Vietnam
• Curculigo breviscapa S.C.Chen – China (Guangxi, Guangdong)
• Curculigo capitulata (Lour.) Kuntze
• Curculigo conoc Gagnep. – Vietnam
• Curculigo crassifolia (Baker) Hook.f.
• Curculigo disticha Gagnep. – Vietnam
• Curculigo ensifolia R.Br. – Australia
• Curculigo erecta Lauterb. – Philippines, Sumatra, New Guinea, Solomon Islands
• Curculigo fabrei Hul
• Curculigo fakimensis (Odyuo, D.K.Roy & Khamdi) Christenh. & Byng
• Curculigo gracilis (Kurz) Wall. ex Hook.f.
• Curculigo janarthanamii R.D. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad – India
• Curculigo latifolia Dryand. ex W.T.Aiton
• Curculigo maharashtrensis M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra
• Curculigo maheensis (F.Friedmann) Christenh. & Byng
• Curculigo oligantha (C.E.C.Fisch.) Bennet & Raizada
• Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. – China, Japan, Indian Subcontinent, Papuasia, Micronesia
• Curculigo pilosa (Schumach. & Thonn.) Engl. – tropical Africa, Madagascar
• Curculigo prainiana (Deb) Bennet & Raizada
• Curculigo racemosa Ridl. – Borneo
• Curculigo rhizophylla (Baker) T.Durand & Schinz
• Curculigo sabui S.P. Gaikwad & Gore – India
• Curculigo savantwadiensis M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav – Maharashtra
• Curculigo scorzonerifolia (Lam.) Baker – southern Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America
• Curculigo seychellensis Bojer ex Baker – Seychelles
• Curculigo sinensis S.C.Chen – China (Yunnan)
• Curculigo tonkinensis Gagnep. – Vietnam
• Curculigo trichocarpa (Wight) Bennet & Raizada

References

References

1. [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1430-1 ''Curculigo'' Gaertn.] ''[[Plants of the World Online]]''. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
2. Yousif, Ragheed Hussam, et al. "Exploring the Molecular Interactions between Neoculin and the Human Sweet Taste Receptors through Computational Approaches." ''Sains Malaysiana'' 49.3 (2020): 517-525. APA
3. [http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=303669 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
4. [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=108705 Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 271 仙茅属 xian mao shu ''Curculigo'' Gaertner, Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 63. 1788. ]
5. (September 1990). "Purification and complete amino acid sequence of a new type of sweet protein taste-modifying activity, curculin". J. Biol. Chem..
6. Hean Chooi Ong. (2004). "Tumbuhan liar: khasiat ubatan & kegunaan lain". Utusan Publications.
7. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad (2018) ''Phytotaxa'' 357(1): 72.
8. S.P.Gaikwad & Gore (2019) ''Nordic J. Bot.'' 37(7)-e02340: 2.

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