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• Physical Description
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Taxonomy

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]

Similar Species

Members of the genus Stenosolen:

There are approximately 9 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus: S. eggersii · S. eggersii f. pubescens · S. grandifolius · S. heterophylla · S. heterophyllus · S. jamesonii · S. macrosiphon · S. stenolobus · S. vanheurckii

Members of the genus Agave:

There are approximately 1,067 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: A. parryi parryi · A. toumeyana bella · A. ajoensis · A. 'Blue Glow' (Agave) · A. 'Cornelius' (Century Plant) · A. 'Joe Hoak' (Agave) · A. 'Sierra Mixteca FO-076' (Agave) · A. aboriginum · A. abortiva · A. abrupta · A. acicularis · A. acklinicola · A. acuispina · A. affinis · A. africana · A. akites · A. aktites (Agave) · A. albescens · A. albicans · A. albicans var. ctenophora · A. albicans var. medio-picta · A. albomarginata (Agave) · A. alibertii · A. aloides · A. aloina · A. alternata · A. altissima · A. amaniensis · A. americana (Agave) · A. americana 'Marginata Aurea Monstrosa' (Dwarf Variegated Century Plant) · A. americana 'Medio-picta Alba' (Century Plant) · A. americana 'Mediopicta Alba' (Agave) · A. americana 'Mediopicta Aurea' · A. americana 'Mediopicta' (Agave) · A. americana 'Striata' · A. americana 'Variegata' (Agave) · A. americana americana var. Americana · A. americana americana var. Expansa · A. americana f. picta · A. americana f. virginica · A. americana L. 'Marginata Aurea' · A. americana L. 'Medio picta' · A. americana L. var. americana (American Century Plant) · A. americana L. var. medio-picta Trel. · A. americana L. var. medio-picta Trel. 'Alba' · A. americana L. var. medio-picta Trel. 'Aurea' · A. americana L. var. picta (Salm-Dyck) Terracino · A. americana L. var. vittata L. · A. americana protamericana (American Agave) · A. americana protoamericana · A. americana var. americana · A. americana var. expansa (Agave) · A. americana var. latifolia · A. americana var. marginata (American Century Plant) · A. americana var. medio-picta · A. americana var. oaxacensis · A. americana var. picta · A. americana var. striata (Agave) · A. americana var. theometel · A. americana var. variegata · A. amoena · A. amurensis · A. ananassoides · A. angustiarum · A. angustifolia (Century Plant) · A. angustifolia Haw. var. angustifolia · A. angustifolia var. angustifolia · A. angustifolia var. deweyana · A. angustifolia var. letonae · A. angustifolia var. marginata · A. angustifolia var. nivea · A. angustifolia var. pacifica (Agave) · A. angustifolia var. rubescens · A. angustifolia var. sargentii (Agave) · A. angustifolia var. variegata (Agave) · A. angustifolium · A. angustissima · A. anomala (Agave) · A. antillarum (Agave) · A. antillarum var. grammontensis · A. apedicellata · A. applanata (Agave) · A. applanata var. huachucensis · A. applanata var. parryi · A. applanata var. spectabilis · A. arizonica (Agave) · A. arubensis · A. aspera · A. asperrima (Rough Century Plant) · A. asperrima maderensis · A. asperrima potosiensis · A. asperrima x victoriae-reginae (Agave) · A. asperrima zarcensis · A. atrovirens (Maguey) · A. atrovirens 'Nana' · A. atrovirens Karw. ex Salm-Dyck var. atrovirens · A. atrovirens Karw. ex Salm-Dyck var. mirabilis (Trel. ex Standl.) Gentry · A. atrovirens var. cochlearis · A. atrovirens var. latissima · A. atrovirens var. marginata

Bibliography

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

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Notes

Contributors:

• 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 14, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
• Orthoptera Species File Online, 2.5, 2006.
• The Global Lepidoptera Names Index2, 12.2, 2005.

Identifiers:

• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 1184903
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:81826-1
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2140090

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.