Classification
Class
Magnoliopsida Brongn.
Order
Gentianales Juss. ex Bercht. & J.Presl
Family
Apocynaceae
 Subordinate Taxa
 Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Catharanthus G.Don, Gen. Hist. 71, 95 (1837)
 Description

Erect annual or perennial herbs. Lvs opposite, with milky latex. Fls axillary, solitary or in pairs, 5-merous. Calyx small, deeply lobed, without basal glands. Corolla salverform; tube narrow, throat closed by hairs; limb patent, twisted anticlockwise in bud. Filaments very short; anthers oblong, connivent into cone around stigma, the base shortly sagittate and connective not spreading. Disc consisting of 2 glands alternating with ovary. Carpels 2; ovules many; style uniformly slender; stigma with thin transparent collar at base. Follicle cylindric, erect or partly so. Seeds 15–30 per follicle, tuberculate; coma 0.

[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]

 Biostatus
Exotic
Number of species in New Zealand within Catharanthus G.Don
CategoryNumber
Exotic: Fully Naturalised1
Total1
 Bibliography
Don, G. 1837: A General History of Dichlamydeous Plants. Vol. 4. J.G. & F. Rivington et al., London.
Mabberley, D.J. 2008: Mabberley's plant book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. Edition 3. Cambridge University Press.