Scopolia is a small genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae (nightshade family), order Solanales. The genus has a notably disjunct distribution: two species occur in Central to Eastern Europe including the Caucasus (S. carniolica and S. caucasica), while the other two are native to East Asia (S. japonica in Japan and S. lutescens in Korea).
All Scopolia species are herbaceous perennials with close chemical affinities to other medicinal genera of Solanaceae. Scopolia carniolica, the best-known and westernmost species, is a creeping perennial bearing light green leaves and dull reddish-purple, bell-shaped flowers — though a more ornamental form, hladnikiana, has cream-to-yellow flowers and is occasionally grown as a decorative plant. The genus is rich in tropane alkaloids: S. carniolica contains scopolamine (an anti-spasmodic at low doses and a hallucinogenic/memory-inhibiting poison at higher doses), along with cuscohygrine, hyoscyamine, and atroscine. The roots of S. japonica yield the coumarin phenylpropanoids umbelliferone and scopoletin.
Scopolia sits within a complex taxonomic neighbourhood. The four species of the related genus Anisodus — similarly medicinally active — were formerly placed in Scopolia, as was the monotypic Atropanthe (represented by Atropanthe sinensis). The genus was named in honour of Giovanni Scopoli (1723–1788), a Tyrolean naturalist.
Etymology
The genus Scopolia is named after Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723–1788), a Tyrolean-born naturalist and physician who made significant contributions to botany and natural history in the 18th century.
Distribution
Scopolia has a disjunct distribution across Europe and Asia. Two species — S. carniolica (Slovenia, Austria, and the Carpathian Mountains) and S. caucasica (the Caucasus) — occur in Central to Eastern Europe, while S. japonica is native to Japan and S. lutescens to Korea.
Cultural Uses
Extracts of Scopolia carniolica containing scopolamine are used in at least one commercial stomach remedy (Inosea, produced by Sato Pharmaceutical). The extract acts as an anti-spasmodic in low doses and can prevent motion-sickness-induced nausea; at higher doses it is a poison with hallucinogenic and memory-inhibiting effects.
Taxonomy Notes
Historically, the four species of Anisodus (A. tanguticus, A. luridus, A. carniolicoides, A. acutangulus) were included in Scopolia, as was the monotypic genus Atropanthe (represented by Atropanthe sinensis). These are now treated as separate genera within Solanaceae. Per GBIF, Scopolia belongs to family Solanaceae, order Solanales.
