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 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 or ; English: 'weevil-wort'.
Species
Plants of the World Online includes:
- Curculigo annamitica <small>Gagnep.</small> â Vietnam
- Curculigo breviscapa <small>S.C.Chen</small> â China (Guangxi, Guangdong)
- Curculigo capitulata
- Curculigo conoc <small>Gagnep.</small> â Vietnam
- Curculigo crassifolia
- Curculigo disticha <small>Gagnep.</small> â Vietnam
- Curculigo ensifolia <small>R.Br.</small> â Australia
- Curculigo erecta <small>Lauterb.</small> â Philippines, Sumatra, New Guinea, Solomon Islands
- Curculigo fabrei
- Curculigo fakimensis
- Curculigo gracilis
- Curculigo janarthanamii <small>R.D. Gore & S.P.Gaikwad</small> â India
- Curculigo latifolia
- Curculigo maharashtrensis <small>M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav</small> â Maharashtra
- Curculigo maheensis
- Curculigo oligantha
- Curculigo orchioides <small>Gaertn.</small> â China, Japan, Indian Subcontinent, Papuasia, Micronesia
- Curculigo pilosa <small>(Schumach. & Thonn.) Engl.</small> â tropical Africa, Madagascar
- Curculigo prainiana
- Curculigo racemosa <small>Ridl.</small> â Borneo
- Curculigo rhizophylla
- Curculigo sabui <small>S.P. Gaikwad & Gore</small> â India
- Curculigo savantwadiensis <small>M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav</small> â Maharashtra
- Curculigo scorzonerifolia <small>(Lam.) Baker</small> â southern Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America
- Curculigo seychellensis <small>Bojer ex Baker</small> â Seychelles
- Curculigo sinensis <small>S.C.Chen</small> â China (Yunnan)
- Curculigo tonkinensis <small>Gagnep.</small> â Vietnam
- Curculigo trichocarpa
References
External links