Cyphostemma (Planch.) Alston

Vitaceae, Bernard Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1993

Morphology General Habit

Erect, prostrate or climbing perennial herbs, lianes or sometimes with succulent trunks bearing erect or climbing stems; often glandular; rootstocks often tuberous or massively woody; tendrils opposite the leaves or absent; rhaphides often present Leaves mostly digitately 3–9-foliolate or occasionally simple, entire or lobed or in very few (but sometimes very common) species pedately 5-foliolate, petiolate or less often sessile; leaflets usually toothed; stipules present, sometimes very well developed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers hermaphrodite or rarely unisexual, 4-merous, arranged in leaf-opposed or axillary corymbs of cymes; buds ± cylindric or flask-shaped, rounded and often inflated at the apex, ± constricted at or near the middle

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx entire or 4-lobed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals hooded at the apex, becoming deflexed, very deciduous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk of 4 rather fleshy conical often truncate glands, ± free from each other but adnate to the ovary which is often almost entirely included

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary with 2 incompletely separated locules, each with 2 ovules; style cylindric or cylindric-conic; stigma minutely bifid or subentire and minutely subcapitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruits usually 1-seeded

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds ovoid or ellipsoid, usually pointed at one end, with dorsal and ventral crests together with radial crests, rugae, etc.(see fig. 12 for scheme used to describe these); the surface of the seed smooth or variously rugose.

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit

Erect trailing or climbing perennial herbs, woody climbers or succulent shrubs from a thickened trunk, often glandular; rootstocks often tuberous; tendrils opposite the leaves or absent

Morphology Leaves

Leaves digitately 3–9(–11)-foliolate or occasionally simple or pedately divided

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Flowers 4-merous, usually bisexual, in leaf-opposed or axillary flattened cymes; buds cylindric or flask-shaped, rounded and often inflated at the apex, ± constricted at or near the middle

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx entire or 4-lobed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Petals hooded at the apex, becoming deflexed, deciduous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk of 4 separate glands, adnate to the ovary

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style

Style cylindric or cylindric-conic, with minutely bifid or subentire stigma

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruits usually 1-seeded

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed ovoid or ellipsoid, with a central dorsal ridge and 2 lateral crests, and with the sides variously sculptured to smooth.

Distribution

Some 240 species in tropical Africa, Madagascar, Arabia and India.

Note

A difficult genus with some very variable species and others which are very inadequately known.