- Family:
- Apocynaceae Juss.
Calotropis R.Br.

[FTEA]
Apocynaceae (part 2), David Goyder, Timothy Harris, Siro Masinde, Ulrich Meve, Johan Venter. Flora of Tropical East Africa, 2012
- Morphology General Habit
- Erect shrubs
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves large, succulent.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Inflorescences terminal and extra-axillary, pedunculate, with several clusters of umbelliform cymes
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- Corolla lobed for ± 2/3 of its length
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corona
- Corolline corona absent Gynostegial corona lobes laterally compressed with an upturned spur at the base, radiating out from the gynostegium to which they are adnate for their entire length
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollinarium
- Pollinaria with oblong, slightly winged corpuscula and short, cylindrical translator arms.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollinia
- Pollinia flattened, pear-shaped
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
- Stylar head pentagonal, depressed or raised slightly above the top of the anthers
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Follicles large, ovate or subglobose, smooth, usually only one of the pair developing, with spongy fibrous mesocarp and a papery endocarp. Seeds ovate, plano-convex, pubescent, with a coma of silky hairs.
- Note
- Three species in Africa, Arabia and southern and SE Asia, introduced elsewhere in the tropics.
[FSOM]
M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS
- Morphology General Habit
- Erect shrubs with large succulent leaves; latex white
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Inflorescences terminal and extra-axillary, pedunculate, usually with at least 2 major branches each with successive subumbelliform clusters of flowers
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
- Corolla lobed for c. 2/3 of its length
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corona
- Corolline corona absent Gynostegial corona of 5 laterally compressed staminal lobes with an upturned spur at the base, radiating out from the gynostegium to which they are adnate for their entire length
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollinarium
- Pollinaria with a pair of pendent, flattened, pear-shaped pollinia
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma
- Stigmatic head pentagonal, depressed or raised slightly above the top of the anthers
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Follicles large, ovoid or subglobose, smooth, usually only one of the pair developing, with spongy fibrous mesocarp and a papery endocarp
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
- Seeds ovate, planoconvex, pubescent, with a tuft of hairs at one end.
- Distribution
- Three species in Africa, Arabia and southern and south-eastern Asia, introduced elsewhere in the tropics.
Native to:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Verde, Central African Repu, Chad, China South-Central, China Southeast, Congo, Djibouti, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, Hainan, India, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jawa, Kenya, Kuwait, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Malawi, Malaya, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
Introduced into:
Andaman Is., Angola, Aruba, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, California, Cayman Is., Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Florida, Gilbert Is., Guatemala, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Iraq, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Marianas, Mexico Central, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Netherlands Antilles, New Guinea, Nicaragua, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Panamá, Paraguay, Philippines, Phoenix Is., Puerto Rico, Queensland, Society Is., Solomon Is., South Australia, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Wake I., Western Australia, Windward Is.
Calotropis R.Br. appears in other Kew resources:
First published in Asclepiadeae: 28 (1810)
Accepted by
- Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.
Literature
Flora of Somalia
- Flora Somalia, Vol 3, (2006) Author: by D. Goyder [updated by M. Thulin 2008]
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Mem. Wern. Soc. 1: 39 (1809)
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Art and Illustrations in Digifolia
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew
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Flora of Somalia
Flora of Somalia
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
-
Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0