Maackia amurensis, commonly known as the Amur maackia, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae that can grow 15 metres (49 ft) tall. The species epithet and common names are from the Amur River region, where the tree originated; it occurs in northeastern China, Korea, and Russia.[1]

Maackia amurensis
Maackia amurensis at Morton Arboretum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Maackia
Species:
M. amurensis
Binomial name
Maackia amurensis

Amur maackia tolerates severe dryness, cold and heavy soils. More interesting than the summer flowers are the unfolding buds in spring which appear silvery and showy like flowers with frost on them.

Named for Richard Otto Karlovich Maack (Richard Maack), a 19th-century Siberian explorer who discovered the tree in the Amur River region on the border between Siberia and China.

Chemistry

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The isoflavones daidzein, retusin, genistein and formononetin and the pterocarpans maackiain and medicarpin can be found in M. amurensis cell cultures.[2]

The quinolizidine alkaloids tetrahydroleontidine and 11-epileontidane have been isolated from the species (their only natural source so far).[3]

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References

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  1. ^ Bojian Bao & Michael A. Vincent. "Maackia amurensis". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  2. ^ Isoflavonoid production by callus cultures of Maackia amurensis. S.A Fedoreyev, T.V Pokushalov, M.V Veselova, L.I Glebko, N.I Kulesh, T.I Muzarok, L.D Seletskaya, V.P Bulgakov and Yu.N Zhuravlev, Fitoterapia, 1 August 2000, Volume 71, Issue 4, Pages 365–372, doi:10.1016/S0367-326X(00)00129-5
  3. ^ https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejoc.202100270 ‘Diastereodivergent Synthesis of the Quinolizidine-Indolizidine Alkaloids of the Leontidine/Camoensine Family’ Authors: Stefan Wagner, Susanne Sigl, Melanie Schenkl, Prof. Dr. Matthias Breuning First published: 16 April 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202100270 In memoriam of Professor Siegfried Hünig.
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