TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Perennial (sometimes annual, shrub, vine, tree); sap milky
Leaves simple, entire, opposite, alternate, or subwhorled; stipules 0 or small
Inflorescence: cyme; flowers 1many, axillary or terminal
Flower bisexual, radial; perianth parts overlapping, at least in bud; sepals 5, fused at base, persistent; petals 5, fused in ± basal half; stamens 5, attached to corolla tube or throat, alternate lobes; ovaries 2, ± superior, generally free, styles and stigmas fused
Fruit: generally 2 follicles
Seeds many, often with tuft of silky hairs
Genera in family: ± 150200 genera, 10002000 species: especially tropical; many ornamental (Nerium, oleander; Plumeria , frangipani); some alkaloids highly toxic, some used in medicine
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Asclepiadaceae
Reference: [Rosatti 1989 J Arnold Arbor 70:307401]
Plant ± puberulent
Leaves ± opposite
Inflorescence: flowers generally solitary in axils
Flower: calyx lobes long, slender; corolla pink, tube ± cylindric, lobes asymmetric; stamens attached near top of corolla tube, filaments ± straight, anthers held above, free from stigma, each completely fertile; nectaries 2, alternate and generally > ovaries; style thread-like, stigma skirted at base
Seed glabrous
Species in genus: 37 species: Madagascar, India
Etymology: (Greek: pure flower)
[Taylor & Farnsworth 1975 The Catharanthus alkaloids]
Introduced |
Stem erect, 3060 cm
Leaf: petiole generally < 1 cm; blade ± elliptic
Flower: corolla 35 cm wide, pink
Fruit ± straight
Ecology: Desert spring
Elevation: 160 m.
Bioregional distribution: Sonoran Desert (Borrego Springs, San Diego Co.)
Distribution outside California: native to Madagascar
Synonyms: Vinca rosea L
Widely cultivated, naturalized in warm temp to tropical regions. Alkaloids used to treat childhood leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, other cancers.