Riocreuxia polyantha Schltr.

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Apocynaceae > Riocreuxia

Characteristics

A sparsely hairy, leafy climber, 1-3 m or more high. Stem annual, twining, freely branching, stout in older parts; nodes with a distinct ring of simple, minute (c. 0.6 mm long) whitish-translucent multicellur hairs; internodes 40-270 mm long, 1.5-4(-7) mm diam., mostly unifariously puberulous, sometimes bifarious, hairs minute, simple, whitish-translucent, reflexed. Leaves herbaceous, spreading; petiole (10-)30-60(-90) mm long, terete, pubescent all around; lamina 30-90(-135) x 20-80(-180) mm, ovate or elliptic-ovate, base deeply cordate, apex acuminate, occasionally acute; with a broad subtruncate sinus between the semiorbicular incurved or overlapping basal lobes; sparsely and rather minutely pubescent on both sides or rarely glabrous above, veins especially on lower surface more densely pubescent, margin entire, ciliolate. Inflorescence of long, slender, branched, paniculate cymes up to 170 mm long; bracts linear-subulate, c. 2 mm long, glabrous; peduncle 1-2 mm diam., unifariously puberulous, branching at the node or at a distance into up to 4 branches, each branch in turn mostly dichotomously or trichotomously branching once or twice to produce the profusely flowering terminals; pseudoumbels 10-30+flowered; flowerbuds cylindric, attenuate-acute, often slightly twisted clockwise in apical half; many flowers opening simultaneously; pedicels (15-)20-35 mm, long and slender, glabrous. Sepals linear-subulate or lanceolate, acute, 2.5(-4) x 0.5(-0.7) mm at base, often apically reflexed, glabrous. Corolla (13-)16(-28) mm long, straight; tube subcylindric or slightly inflated towards base, 10-14 mm long x 3-4(-5) mm diam.; exterior and interior whitish/yellowish/cream/pale green occasionally with faint greenish striations, glabrous throughout; lobes linear-lanceolate, attenuate-acute, 4-8(-13) x 1-1.8(-2.5) mm wide at base, erect, connate at apex to form an ellipsoid or subglobose cage-like structure 5(-8) mm diam., occasionally breaking free, sometimes orange-red/yellow or pale yellow which is usually more intense adaxially, glabrous. Corona ± subglobose, c. 1.5 x 1.5 mm, subsessile or shortly stipitate, biseriate, apparently cream or yellowish, glabrous throughout; outer lobes ± forming 5 small pockets, emarginate or shortly bifid, with c. 0.5 mm long subhorizontally orientated teeth or lobules somewhat appearing face-to-face; inner lobes dorsiventrally compressed, linear-obtuse, 0.5-1.2 x c.0.3 mm, slightly longer or slightly shorter than anthers, closely applied to their backs and connivent over them; guide rails c. 300 ?m long. Pollinarium: pollinia 280-400 x 150-200 ?m, elliptic-oblong with an acute pellucid margin at apex; corpusculum elliptic, 120-190 x 70-80 ?m. Carpels glabrous. Follicles paired, acutely divergent, cylindrical, apically tapering, (90-)150-170(-210) x 2-4 mm diam. at centre; no distinct constrictions between seeds; seed dorsiventrally compressed, oblong-elliptic, 8-10 x c.2.5 mm, dark brown or blackish with a c.0.5 mm wide paler margin; coma c.20 mm long. Flowering: December-May with peaks from March to April in East and South East Africa; September-April with peaks from January-February in southern Africa.
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Perennial herb with rootstock becoming woody, producing elongate, subfleshy roots. Stem branched, twining, up to several m long, unifariously puberulous. Leaves drying thin, varying from nearly glabrous to thinly puberulous; petiole mostly 20-50 mm long, occasionally longer; blade cordate-ovate to cordate-lanceolate, 30-120(-150) x 20-80(-120) mm, acute or acuminate. Flowers in pedunculate cymes up to about 180 mm long including the peduncle, 1-few-flowered from each node; pedicels slender, 20-40 mm long. Sepals subulate, 2-3 mm long. Corolla (15-)18-26 mm long; tube subcylindric, 10-15 mm long, slightly inflated towards base; lobes linear-attenuate, 8-12 mm long, connate at tips into a cage-like structure. Corona arising from base of staminal column or from slightly above, with 5 small pockets and bifid margin; inner lobes linear, incumbent on anthers or slightly shorter. Pollinia elliptic-oblong, with apical portion bent and translucent. Follicles linear-terete, ±100 mm long, slightly constricted between seeds.
Sepals linear-lanceolate, spreading-recurved, 4-5 mm long. Corolla-tube inflated, glabrous, ±10 mm long; lobes linear-filiform from a lanceolate base; spreading-erect to the connate tips, glabrous. Staminal column ±2 mm long, stout. Corona arising about halfway up, forming 5 deep pockets spreading ±1 mm, with outer margin bifid with lobules 0.25 mm long; inner lobes linear, 1.5-2 mm long, incumbent-erect, overtopping staminal column. Pollinia sub-globose, ±0.15 mm long with translucent apex; caudicles very short; carrier minute. Follicles slender, subterete, 80-100 mm long, slightly constricted between seeds.
Perennial herbaceous climber, 1-5 m high; stems with single, lengthwise strip of hairs. Leaves cordate-ovate to cordate-lanceolate, 30-120 x 20-80 mm, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescence 1-3-flowered, lateral at nodes. Flowers tubular. Corolla lobes erect with apex connate forming a cage-like structure; tube 10-15 mm; lobes 8-12 mm long. Corona in 2 series; outer corona lobes forming 5 small pockets, margins bifid; inner corona lobes linear, slightly shorter than anthers. Flowering time Dec.-Mar. Follicle linear-terete, ± 100 mm long.
Perennial herb. Stems twining. Leaves petiolate; blade heart-shaped, 30-120 x 20-80 mm; petioles 20-50 mm long. Flowers: staminal column ± 1 mm high; corona with 5 small pockets, with very slightly spreading outer margin, minutely notched with teeth face to face; inner corona lobes half to full height of anthers; corolla greenish yellow to white; Oct.-Mar. Fruit a follicle.
Twining perennial herb. Staminal column ± 1 mm tall. Corona with 5 small pockets with very slightly spreading outer margin, minutely notched with teeth face to face. Inner corona lobes half to full height of anthers. Flowers greenish yellow to white.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.0 - 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Forest margins, montane and riverine forests, wooded savannahs and thickets, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,800 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal potherb
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Potherb (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Riocreuxia polyantha unspecified picture
Riocreuxia polyantha unspecified picture

Distribution

Riocreuxia polyantha world distribution map, present in Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, eSwatini, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:100858-1
WFO ID wfo-0000402214
COL ID 4T4JX
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Riocreuxia polyantha Riocreuxia profusa Ceropegia burchellii Riocreuxia burchellii Riocreuxia flanaganii subsp. segregata