CALCEOLARIACEAE

• Medicinal / Folk-medicinal aspects: •
• Adverse effects: Preliminary reports suggest that irritant and allergic reactions may be elicited by members of the genus Calceolaria L. •
• Veterinary aspects: •

The Calceolariaceae, which is closely related to the Gesneriaceae,^a has recently been segregated from the Scrophulariaceae (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2003).

A number of Calceolaria L. species and, less commonly, Jovellana Ruiz & Pav. species, the only two genera in the family,^b are cultivated as garden and greenhouse ornamentals (Hunt 1968/70).

^a https://gesneriads.info/articles/gesneriaceae/affinities-of-gesneriaceae/; accessed April 2025
^b https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1019398-1; accessed April 2025

Calceolaria L.

van Ketel (1987) reported a case of a 62-year old female flower seller with allergic contact dermatitis of the face. Patch tests showed positive reactions to the flowers and stems of Matricaria chamomilla L., fam. Compositae; a weaker reaction was observed to an unidentified calceolaria species. Although control reactions to 10% alcoholic Matricaria chamomilla extract were reportedly negative in controls, no mention was made of control tests with the calceolaria.

Calceolaria integrifolia L.

Two male gardeners noted irritation of the eyes after taking cuttings of the plant. In one of them, patch tests to the leaf and stem sap produced negative reactions suggesting that the plant is a mild irritant for the conjunctiva (Mitchell JC 1973 — unpublished observation).

Dunnione, a prenylated o-naphthoquinone, has been isolated from this species and from Streptocarpus dunnii Hook.f. (Inoue et al. 1983, Rüedi & Eugster 1977). See also Streptocarpus Lindl., fam. Gesneriaceae.

References

• Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2003) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141(4): 399-436 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Hunt P (Ed.) (1968/70) The Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia of Gardening. London: Marshall Cavendish [WorldCat]
• Inoue K, Ueda S, Nayeshiro H, Inouye H (1983) Quinones of Streptocarpus dunnii. Phytochemistry 22(3): 737-741 [doi] [url]
• Mitchell JC (1973) Unpublished observation. In: Mitchell J, Rook A (1979). Botanical Dermatology. Plants and plant products injurious to the skin. Vancouver: Greengrass, p. 643 [WorldCat] [url]
• Rüedi P, Eugster CH (1977) Isolierung von (−)-Dunnion aus Calceolaria integrifolia MURR. (Scrophulariaceae). [Isolation of (−)-dunnione from the leaves of Calceolaria integrifolia MURR. (fam. Scrophulariaceae)]. Helvetica Chimica Acta 60(3): 945-947 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• van Ketel WG (1987) Allergy to Matricaria chamomilla. Contact Dermatitis 16(1): 50-51 [doi] [url] [url-2] [pmid]

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