Class
Classification
Subordinate Taxa
Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Apocynaceae
Synonymy:
- = Asclepiadaceae
Description
Shrubs, lianes or trees, rarely herbs, usually with milky latex, often poisonous. Lvs opposite or verticillate, rarely alternate, exstipulate, simple, entire. Infl. various, usually cymose, sometimes fls solitary. Fls actinomorphic, ☿, 5-merous. Calyx deeply lobed, often glandular inside; lobes imbricate. Corolla gamopetalous; lobes convolute and twisted in bud, oblique. Stamens (4)–5, inserted in tube or at mouth; filaments usually free, rarely united; anthers free or united round stigma, often sagittate. Pollen grains not adherent. Disc usually present. Ovary superior; carpels 2, often free and united by single style, 1-locular with 2 parietal placentas or 2-locular with a septum and placentas adnate to it. Ovules 2 or more. Fr. entire or composed of 2 separate carpels, baccate, drupaceous or follicular. Seeds mostly winged or with a coma, endospermic.
[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]
Biostatus
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Indigenous (Endemic) | 3 |
| Exotic: Fully Naturalised | 7 |
| Exotic: Casual | 7 |
| Total | 17 |
Bibliography
Connor, H.E. 1977: The Poisonous Plants in New Zealand. Edition 2. Government Printer, Wellington.
Connor, H.E.; Fountain, J. 2009: Plants that Poison: A New Zealand Guide. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.
Cronquist, A. 1988: The evolution and classification of flowering plants. The New York Botanic Gardens, New York.
Mabberley, D.J. 2008: Mabberley's plant book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. Edition 3. Cambridge University Press.
