Staphisagria macrosperma

Staphisagria macrosperma

The Stavesacre (Staphisagria macrosperma Spach) is a herbaceous species belonging to the Ranunculaceae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Subkingdom Tracheobionta,
Spermatophyta superdivision,
Magnoliophyta division,
Class Magnoliopsida,
Subclass Magnoliidae,
Order Ranunculales,
Family Ranunculaceae,
Genus Staphisagria,
S. macrosperma species.
The term is basionym:
– Delphinium staphisagria L..
The terms are synonyms:
– Delphidium staphysagria (L.) Raf., 1830;
– Staphisagria hirtella Jord.;
– Staphisagria moschata Jord..

Etymology –
The term Staphisagria comes from the Greek στᾰφίς staphís stafisagra, a plant mentioned by Hippocrates and by ἀγρία wild agría.
The specific epithet macrosperma comes from the Greek μακρόϛ macrós large, long and from σπέρμα spérma semenza: with large seeds.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Staphisagria macrosperma is a plant native to the countries of the Mediterranean basin where it is widely distributed in the countries of the basin and in Macaronesia.
In Spain it is found in different areas of Murcia, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia.
In Italy it is found in Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany and, perhaps, in Emilia-Romagna.
Its habitat is that of gravelly places and on the edge of fields (in Italy above all along the southern coasts and on the islands), in ruderal areas and in humid soils.
It is found in some gardens, grown as an ornamental plant.

Description –
The annual Staphisagria macrosperma, pubescent in all its parts, greasy to the touch and with an unpleasant smell.
It has an erect, robust stem, 50-120 cm tall, hairy, with mixed hairs between long and short.
The leaves are glossy, palmate-partite, long petiolate, pubescent or almost glabrous, large, 4-8 cm long and 5-10 cm broad, the 5-9 broad, oblong-lanceolate lobes, incised in the lower leaves and internal to the upper ones.
The flowers are collected in lax terminal racemes, 20-30 cm long, simple. Petaloid sepals, bluish-violet pubescent on the outside, the upper one prolonged in a short, obtuse and bifid spur; 4 petals, the two upper ones transformed into nectaries and prolonged, in a spur that penetrates that of the calyx, the lateral ones not spurred, wedge-shaped, obovate and glabrous. Numerous spirally arranged stamens, with very dilated filaments at the base, subulates at the apex and subspherical anthers. The ovary of 2-3 free, sessile carpels, tapered in the style, which is stigmatiferous at the apex.
The anthesis is in May and bears fruit in August.
The fruit is a follicete (polyfollicle) formed by 3 polyspermous follicles, swollen, approximately cylindrical, about 20 mm long, in addition to the 5-7 mm beak, covered with short hairs.
The seeds are 4–5 mm long and a little less broad and 1–2 mm thick, blackish-grey, more or less oval or triangular in shape, with protruding edges and convex or flattened or concave faces, crossed by a protruding lattice which does not disappear by immersing them in water; they have no odor when dried but when moistened and ground they have an unpleasant odor and a bitter, pungent taste.

Cultivation –
Staphisagria macrosperma is an annual plant that grows throughout the Mediterranean.
The plant is cultivated in some areas mainly as an ornamental plant.
It grows well in many types of substrate but prefers well-drained moist ones.
Its propagation takes place by seed, with sowing in the month of April.
The plant already flowers in May and bears fruit in August.

Customs and Traditions –
Staphisagria macrosperma was classified formerly known as Delphinium staphisagria. Molecular evidence has suggested that Staphisagria should be a separate genus.
The ancient Greeks also called the plant φθειροκτόνον (phthiroctonon, “lice killer”) because of its use in traditional medicine to kill lice. This meaning is retained in many of the plant’s common names in several languages, such as lice-bane in English, matapiojos in Spanish, bit otu in Turkish, etc.
In history the use of preparations based on the seeds of S. macrosperma to destroy body lice has been recognized since ancient times. The Greek physician Dioscorides and the Roman historian Pliny are often mentioned in this context; in evaluating this classic literature, Barton and Castle expressed the opinion that Dioscorides’ description of Staphisagria was consistent in many respects with the plant they knew as Delphinium staphisagria. One of the founders of American pharmacognosy, John Uri Lloyd, writing in his famous Pharmacopoeia, mentioned references to the use of D. staphisagria preparations even in the writings of Nicander and Crescentius.
This plant is mentioned in a 4th century “magic” papyrus codex from Egypt, where it is said to have facilitated a man’s erection. The plant had to be mashed and mixed with water, then sprinkled around the house. However, the interpretation of the formula remains uncertain.
A preparation from this plant was used by the British troops in the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
As mentioned above, preparations based on S. macrosperma (apparently mainly from the seeds) have been used as a pediculicide for the last two millennia. Maud Grieve, in her famous Herbal, written in 1931, refers to it as a “wormer” and “destroyer of parasites”, as well as its parasitic properties. She also says it is “violently emetic and cathartic”.
For this reason, S. macrosperma was studied by chemists as early as the early 19th century. Two French scientists, Lassaigne and Feneulle, were the first to isolate, in 1819, an alkaloid called delphinine from the seeds of D. staphisagria.
The fully correct molecular structure of delphinin was not determined until 1971, due to the chemical complexity of this substance coupled with the technical limitations of the times. However, it was established fairly early on that delphinin was a member of the diterpenoid alkaloid family, and it is often cited in poisonous plant textbooks as a representative toxin of the Delphinium genus. The presence of delphinin is somewhat limited in this genus. Although delphinin is the major alkaloid constituent of D. staphisagria seeds, many other related diterpenoid alkaloids have also been isolated from them.
The seeds of this plant contain alkaloids including, in addition to delphinine: delfisina, delfinoidina, stafisagrodina; in addition, malic acid, stafisaric acid, fixed oil and volatile oil and mucilages are also found.
Please note that all parts of this plant are highly toxic and should not be ingested in any quantity.

Method of Preparation –
Staphisagria macrosperma could be a plant used for the extraction of some alkaloids and active ingredients.
Historically a tincture or infusion of the seeds has been used as an insecticide against lice and scabies in animals.
Once upon a time in popular medicine the seeds were used internally as anthelmitic and sedative but overdose causes even fatal poisonings, generates gastro-enteric irritations accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea and asphyxiation due to cardiac arrest.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/123156356/original.jpg

Attention: The pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not in any way represent a medical prescription; we therefore decline all responsibility for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.