Description:

• Perennial vines, lianes or subshrubs
• Leaves petiolate, elliptic or ovate to lanceolate, sometimes cordate at base, sometimes acuminate
• Flowers in lateral, subaxillary umbels, often 2 opposite umbels from same node in umbellate cymes, or in fascicles along branches of cymes or panicles; peduncles lateral at nodes or axillary
• Sepals elliptic, with scales within base
• Corolla lobed half-way or more; tube campanulate; lobes reflexed, oblong, oblong-ovate or linear, minutely notched at apex, sometimes hairy within base
• Corona arising from corolla tube, either of 5 fleshy lobes channelled on face and adnate up to mouth of corolla tube, or of 5 pairs of fleshy ridges on lower part of corolla tube, alternating with corolla lobes
• Staminal column arising from base of corolla
• Corona of 5 fleshy lobes arising from and adnate to staminal column, with free tips and often with free margins, sometimes with tubercle-like projections at base which are sometimes confluent and look like an outer corona
• Anthers 2-locular, terminated by membranous appendages which are free or connate and ± incumbent on top of style apex or applied to side of its conical tip or beak
• Pollinia sessile, linear-oblong, ellipsoid or linear, erect in each anther theca, with short caudicles
• Style head conical or cylindrical, mitre-shaped, produced beyond staminal column
• Follicles often winged, smooth or sometimes hairy
• Seeds many with narrow, marginal wing, convex-concave
• x = 11

Nomenclature:

• Marsdenia R.Br.
  • Brown: 28 (1811)
  • Forster: 722 (1995)
• Gymnema R.Br
  • Brown.: 33 (1811)
  • Brown: 782 (1908)
  • Bullock: 65 (1953)
  • Schultes: 57 (1820)
• Dregea E.Mey.
  • Meyer: 199 (1838) name conserved
  • Bullock: 512 (1957)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species over 300, in Mediterranean, Africa, Asia, Malesia, Melanesia, Australia and Central and South America
• Southern Africa: Species 3, widespread except in Free State, Lesotho and Western Cape