| Your Home Page | Contact Us |

• Taxonomy
• Physical Description
• Distribution
• Growth
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes
• Keep Exploring

Taxonomy

Notes:

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Physical Description

Family Apocynaceae:

Trees, shrubs, or vines, rarely subshrubs or herbs, with latex or rarely watery juice. Leaves simple, opposite, rarely whorled or alternate, pinnately veined; stipules absent or rarely present. Inflorescences cymose, terminal or axillary, with bracteoles. Flowers bisexual, 5- [or 4]-merous, actinomorphic. Calyx 5- or rarely 4-partite, quincuncial, basal glands usually present. Corolla 5- or rarely 4-lobed, salverform, funnelform, urceolate, or rarely rotate, lobes overlapping to right or left, rarely valvate. Stamens 5 or rarely 4; filaments short; anthers mostly sagittate, free or connivent into a cone adherent to pistil head, dehiscing longitudinally, base rounded, cordate, sagittate, or prolonged into an empty spur; pollen granular; disc ringlike or cup-shaped, 2-5-lobed, or absent. Ovaries superior, rarely half-inferior, connate or distinct, 1- or 2-locular; ovules (1 or) 2-numerous per locule. Style 1; pistil head capitate, conical, or lampshade-shaped, base stigmatic, apex 2-cleft and not stigmatic. Fruit a berry, drupe, capsule, or follicle. Seeds with or without coma; endosperm thick and often horny, scanty, sometimes absent; embryo straight or nearly so, cotyledons often large, radicle terete.

About 155 genera and 2000 species distributed primarily in the tropics and subtropics, poorly represented in the temperate regions. Of the 44 genera and 145 species present in China, one genus and 38 species are endemic, and nearly 95% of the taxa grow in the southern and southwestern portions of the country.

Fruit type is highly diversified in the family, and it is diagnostic of many genera. Genera 1-4 produce 1, 2-celled berries from a flower; genus 5 produces 2, 1-celled berries from a flower; 6 and 7 produce mostly fleshy follicles containing deeply indented seeds with ruminate endosperm; 8 has follicles and winged seeds; 9 produces follicles and seeds with 2 comas; 10-12 have follicles with globose seeds; 13-18 have drupes mostly with fleshy mesocarp; 19 has samaroid fruit; 20 has spiny capsules with seeds winged all around; and 21-44 have free or fused follicles and comose seeds. Double flowers are known only from cultivated forms of Nerium oleander, Tabernaemontana divaricata, and Wrightia religiosa.

Plants of the Apocynaceae are often poisonous and are rich in alkaloids or glycosides, especially in the seeds and latex. Some species are valuable sources of medicine, insecticides, fibers, and rubber.^[1]

Habit: Deciduous.

Distribution

Growth

Culture: Space 24-36" apart.

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Similar Species

Members of the genus Pachypodium:

There are approximately 81 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus: P. ambongense (Pachypodium) · P. baroni · P. baroni windsori · P. baronii (Pachypodium) · P. baronii var. baronii · P. baronii Costantin & Bois var. windsorii (Poiss.) Pichon · P. baronii var. windsorii (Pachypodium) · P. bicolor · P. bispinosum (Pachypodium) · P. brachycarpum · P. brevicalyx · P. brevicaule · P. bursifolium · P. cactipes · P. champenoisianum · P. columnae · P. decaryi · P. densiflorum (Pachypodium) · P. densiflorum albiflorum · P. drakei · P. eburneum · P. erysimoides · P. geayi (Madagascar Palm) · P. giganteum · P. glabrum · P. gracilius · P. griquense · P. horombense · P. inopinatum · P. integrifolium · P. jasminiflorum · P. laciniatum · P. lamerei (Madagascar Palm) · P. lamerei Drake 'Cristata' · P. lamerei var. lamerei · P. lamerei Drake var. ramosum Costantin & Bois · P. lamerei var. ramosum · P. lealii · P. lealii saundersii · P. lealii subsp. saundersii · P. linearifolium · P. makayense · P. menabeum · P. meridionale (Pachypodium) · P. mikea · P. namaquanum (Club Foot) · P. obesum · P. pannonicum · P. ramosum · P. rosulatum (Pachypodium) · P. rosulatum Baker forma bicolor (Lavranos & Rapanarivo) G.D.Rowley · P. rosulatum Baker var. delphinense H.Perrier · P. rosulatum Baker var. drakei (Costantin & Bois) Markgr. · P. rosulatum Baker var. eburneum (Lavranos & Rapanarivo) G.D.Rowley · P. rosulatum Baker var. rosulatum · P. rosulatum Baker var. stenanthum Costantin & Bois · P. rosulatum bemarahense · P. rosulatum bicolor · P. rosulatum cactipes · P. rosulatum gracilius · P. rosulatum makayense · P. rosulatum subsp. bemarahense · P. rosulatum subsp. bicolor · P. rosulatum subsp. cactipes · P. rosulatum subsp. gracilius · P. rosulatum subsp. makayense · P. rosulatum var. drakei · P. rosulatum var. gracilis (Pachypodium) · P. rosulatum var. gracilius · P. rosulatum var. horombense · P. rutenbergianum (Madagascar Palm) · P. rutenbergianum var. meridionale · P. rutenbergianum Vatke var. meridionale H.Perrier · P. sagittatum · P. saudersii · P. saundersii (Lundi Star) · P. sofiense (Pachypodium) · P. succulentum (Pachypodium) · P. tomentosum · P. tuberosum · P. windsorii

Bibliography

• Tsiang Ying & Li Ping-tao. 1977. Apocynaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 63: 1-249.

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CA L | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
• Translate this page using Google: Arabic | Chinese | Deutsch | Español | Français | Italiano | Japanese | Korean | Português

Notes

Identifiers:

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 974794
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:80692-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 877818

Footnotes:

1. Bingtao Li, Antony J. M. Leeuwenberg & David J. Middleton "Apocynaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 143. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.