Herbaceous or woody lianas, sometimes small rambling shrubs, or sometimes stems ± succulent and brittle
Leaves cordate, simple, entire, occasionally dentate, palmately 5-7-nerved, rarely pinnate, with long petioles
Inflorescences: pseudopanicles, pseudoracemes or pseudospikes, 2-4-flowered or flowers solitary
Male flowers: sepals 6 (occasionally 1-3 additional, minute, outer ones present), usually free, rarely united at base, outer 3 smaller than inner, hyaline or membranous; petals (3)6, fleshy, involute, embracing filaments, inner 3 shorter than outer which are shorter than inner sepals; stamens (3)6; filaments free or usually connate to ± middle; anthers erect, dehiscing by longitudinal slits
Female flowers similar to male; staminodes 6 or 0, opposite petals; carpels 3; ovary obliquely ovoid; stigma sessile, oblique
Drupelets 3 or fewer; unequally ovoid; exocarp pulpy; endocarp bony, ovoidal or ellipsoidal, often ± verrucose or tuberculate outside, often with a few teeth; condyle a deep globular cavity on ventral side
Seed with endosperm fleshy, ruminate; embryo reniform; cotyledons foliaceous, divaricate
x = 12, 13
Nomenclature:
Tinospora Miers
Miers: 35 (1851)
Bentham: 34 (1862)
Miers: 30 (1871)
Prantl: 87 (1891)
Engler: 402 (1899)
Diels: 133 (1910)
Troupin: 17 (1956)
Troupin: 159 (1960)
Troupin: 191 (1962)
Troupin & Gonçalves: 13 (1973)
Kessler: 413 (1993)
Thulin: 28 (1993)
Desmonema Miers
Miers: 260 (1867) not of Raf.
Miers: 377 (1871)
Engler: 408 (1899)
Diels: 153 (1910)
Hyalosepalum Troupin
Troupin: 430 (1949)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species ± 35; in tropical Africa 7, in Madagascar 2, in Asia to Australia and the Pacific 23
Southern Africa: Species 3, Namibia, Botswana, Northern Province, Mpumalanga, Swaziland and KwaZulu-Natal
References:
BENTHAM, G. 1862. Menispermaceae. In G. Bentham & J.D. Hooker, Genera plantarum 1. Lovell Reeve & Co., London
DIELS, L. 1910. Menispermaceae. Das Pflanzenreich IV. 94 (Heft 46)
ENGLER, A. 1899. Menispermaceae africanae. Botanische Jahrbücher 26
KESSLER, P.J.A. 1993. Menispermaceae. In K. Kubitzki, J.G. Rohwer & V. Bittrich, The families and genera of vascular plants - dicotyledons 2. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
MIERS, J. 1851. A few remarks on the Menispermaceae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ser. 2, Vol. 7
MIERS, J. 1867. A few remarks on the Menispermaceae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ser. 3, Vol. 20
MIERS, J. 1871. A complete monograph of the Menispermaceae. Contributions to Botany 3(1). Williams & Norgate, London
PRANTL, K. 1891. Menispermaceae. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien 3,2
THULIN, M. 1993. Menispermaceae. Flora of Somalia 1
TROUPIN, G. 1949. Contribution à l'étude des Ménispermacées africaines I. Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de l'État, Bruxelles 19
TROUPIN, G. 1956. Flora of tropical East Africa. Menispermaceae
TROUPIN, G. 1960. Menispermaceae. Flora zambesiaca 1
TROUPIN, G. 1962. Monographie des Menispermaceae africaines. Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Classe des sciences naturelles et médicales mémoires 13
TROUPIN, G. & GONÇALVES, M.L. 1973. Menispermaceae. Flora de Moçambique 7
Copyright of the content hosted by this website remains with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), unless stated otherwise. Material from this site may be used in other media, provided that SANBI is acknowledged by the name South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) or refer to the 'How to cite this resource' paragraph on the Home page. Liability disclaimer: Visitors use this site at their own risk and SANBI is not liable for any of the consequences resulting therefrom.
Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
