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Taxonomy

Notes:

Publishing author: Brongn. Publication: in Ann. Sc. Nat. Ser. I. xxiv. (1831) 275. I. 13

Physical Description

Family Asclepiadaceae:

Herbs, shrubs, or rarely treelike, with milky or, less often, clear latex. Leaves simple, opposite or occasionally whorled, very rarely alternate, usually without obvious stipules, margin nearly always entire. Inflorescences terminal, axillary, or extra-axillary, cymose, often condensed and umbel-like, occasionally a racemelike bostrychium. Flowers bisexual, 5-merous, actinomorphic. Sepals joined at base only, often with 5 or more basal glands in the sinuses. Corolla sympetalous, reflexed to urceolate or salverform; lobes valvate or overlapping in bud to right or left. Corona usually present, inserted on corolla, stamens, or both. Stamens 5, usually inserted at base of corolla tube and adhering to stigma head to form gynostegium; filaments usually connate to form a tube enclosing ovaries; anthers 4-celled (Periplocoideae and Secamonoideae) or 2-celled (Asclepiadoideae), often with a membranous apical appendage; pollen tetrads contained loosely on a spatulate translator with a basal corpusculum (Periplocoideae), or pollen united into waxy pollinia, each attached through a caudicle (stalk) to the retinaculum (gland) between adjacent anthers to form a pollinarium, pollinia 2 (Asclepiadoideae) or 4 (Secamonoideae) per pollinarium. Ovaries 2, free, superior; ovules numerous. Styles connate; stigma head fleshy. Fruit of 1 or 2 follicles. Seeds numerous, strongly compressed, with a coma (a prominent basal tuft of silky hairs) . Chromosome number x = (8-) 11 (or 12) .

Some 250 genera and over 2000 species: widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in Africa and southern South America, with a moderate representation in northern and southeastern Asia; 44 genera (four endemic) and 270 species (153 endemic) in China.

Some authorities include this family in the Apocynaceae. Genera 1-6 are sometimes placed in a separate family, the Periplocaceae, here regarded as a subfamily, Periplocoideae. Genera 7-10 belong to the Secamonoideae and the remaining genera to the Asclepiadoideae. Many Chinese taxa are known only from dried material, sometimes not well preserved, and it is likely that the study of living or spirit-preserved material could lead to a reassessment of the taxonomy of some of these endemic taxa.

All plant parts, especially the seeds and latex, are often poisonous. They contain various alkaloids and glycosides, many of which are used in medicine and as insecticides. A few succulent species (e.g., Stapelia gigantia N. E. Brown, Orbea pulchella (Masson) L. C. Leach, and O. variegata (Linnaeus) Haworth are grown by specialist collectors in China.^[1]

Genus Asclepias:

Herbs, base frequently woody. Leaves opposite or whorled, short petiolate. Cymes terminal and extra-axillary, erect, umbel-like, many flowered. Calyx glands 5-10. Corolla rotate, deeply parted; lobes reflexed, valvate or rarely overlapping to right. Corona lobes 5, inserted on gynostegium, erect, apex hooded, with an incurved, ligular-hornlike adaxial appendage. Stamens inserted at base of corolla tube; filaments connate into a tube; anther appendages incurved; pollinia 2 per pollinarium, pendulous. Stigma head conical. Follicles fusiform, apex acuminate. Seeds flat, with a long coma.

About 120 species: America, some naturalized in Old World; one species in China.^[2]

Similar Species

Members of the genus Asclepias:

There are approximately 700 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: A. 'Alessa' · A. 'Beatrix' · A. 'Beauty' · A. 'Cinderella' · A. 'Kiki' · A. 'Red Wijna' · A. 'Soulmate' · A. abyssinica · A. acanthocarpus · A. acerateoides · A. acida · A. acornuta · A. acuminata · A. adscendens · A. aequicornu · A. affinis · A. ageratoides · A. alba · A. albens · A. albicans (Wax Milkweed) · A. albida · A. albiflora · A. albo-aurantiaca · A. alexicaca · A. alexifarmacas · A. alexitoxica · A. alpina · A. alticola · A. altissima · A. amabilis · A. ameliae · A. amoena · A. amplexicaulis (Blunt-Leaf Milkweed) · A. amsonioides · A. angulosa · A. angustata · A. angustifolia (Arizona Milkweed) · A. angustissima · A. anisophylla · A. annularia · A. annularis · A. aphylla · A. apocinum · A. apocynifolia · A. appendiculata · A. arborea · A. arborescens · A. arenaria (Sand Milkweed) · A. arenicola · A. argentata · A. armata · A. arvensis · A. asperula (Antelope Horns) · A. asperula asperula · A. asperula capricornu (Antelope Horns) · A. asperula subsp. capricornu · A. asthmatica · A. atroviolacea · A. aurantiaca · A. aurea · A. axillaris · A. axilliaris · A. bagshawei · A. barbata · A. barjoniifolia · A. bartlettiana · A. baumii · A. bicolor · A. bicuspis · A. bidentata · A. bifida · A. blanchetii · A. boliviensis · A. bracteolata · A. brasiliensis · A. brevicuspis · A. brevipes (Asclepias) · A. bridgesii · A. browniana · A. buchenaviana · A. buchwaldii · A. burchellii · A. cabrae · A. calceolus · A. californica (California Milkweed) · A. californica greenei (Bract Milkweed) · A. californica subsp. greenei · A. californica var. callifolia (California Milkweed) · A. campestris · A. campestris var. angustifolia · A. campestris var. flava · A. campestris var. heterophylla · A. campestris var. schlechteri · A. cancellata (Asclepias) · A. candida · A. canescens · A. canina · A. cannabinum · A. capricornu capricornu · A. capricornu subsp. capricornu

Members of the genus Calliptamus:

There are approximately 64 species and subspecies in this genus: C. abbreviatus · C. abbreviatus(Ikonnikov · C. aurantiacus · C. aurantipes · C. balucha · C. barabarus · C. barabarus cephalotes · C. barbarus · C. barbarus barbarus · C. barbarus cephalotes · C. barbarus chopardi · C. barbarus deserticola · C. barbarus discoidalis · C. barbarus ictericus · C. barbarus minimus · C. barbarus monspelliensis · C. barbarus montanus · C. barbarus nanus · C. barbarus pallidipes · C. barbarus parvus · C. barbarus punctata · C. barbarus salina · C. barbarus siculus · C. cicatricosus · C. coelesyriensis · C. coelesyriensis anatolicus · C. coelesyriensis angustus · C. coelesyriensis carbonaria · C. coelesyriensis hissaricus · C. coelesyriensis intricatus · C. cyrenaicus · C. doii · C. holoptera · C. iracus · C. italicus · C. italicus affinis · C. italicus afghanus · C. italicus anachoretus · C. italicus bilineata · C. italicus blandus · C. italicus cerasinus · C. italicus cerisanus · C. italicus fasciatum · C. italicus germanicus · C. italicus gilvonigricans · C. italicus grandis · C. italicus insularis · C. italicus italicus · C. italicus marginellus · C. italicus marmoratus · C. italicus reductus · C. madeirae · C. mus · C. okbaensis · C. plebeius · C. plebeius vulcanius · C. reductus · C. siciliae · C. siculus · C. syriacus · C. tenuicercis · C. turanicus · C. vulcanius · C. wattenwylianus

Bibliography

• Tsiang Ying & Li Ping-tao. 1977. Asclepiadaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 63: 249-575.

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Notes

Contributors:

• BioSystematic Database of World Diptera, 7.0, 2005.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed January 18, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
• Species Fungorum 2006.
• Zygomycetes 2005.

Identifiers:

• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1198391

Footnotes:

1. Bingtao Li, Michael G. Gilbert & W. Douglas Stevens "Asclepiadaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 189. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
2. "Asclepias". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 203. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.