Description:

• Perennials, usually twining, sometimes erect or decumbent
• Leaves usually petiolate
• Flowers small, never exceeding 10 mm in diameter, fasciculate, or in simple or compound, pedunculate cymes, rarely in racemes, subaxillary or lateral at nodes
• Sepals often with scales within base
• Corolla deeply 5-lobed, white or cream
• Corona arising from or near base of staminal column, annular, cup-shaped or tubular, truncate, toothed or lobed or divided nearly to base into 5 entire or toothed lobes, sometimes with a tooth, lobule, thickening or keels near base of inner surface
• Anthers 2-locular, with obovate-oblong, lanceolate or linear, membranous, inflexed or erect appendage, with membranous margin
• Pollinia pendulous, ellipsoid, ovate or oblong; caudicles shorter than pollinia
• Follicles usually solitary, sometimes winged or keeled, smooth
• Seeds compressed, elliptic and narrowly winged or convex on one side and flat on other, with protuberances
• x = 11 (aneuploids, polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Cynanchum L.
  • Linnaeus: 212 (1753)
  • Brown: 743 (1908)
  • Liede: 503 (1993)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species ± 100, cosmopolitan
• Southern Africa: Species 12, widespread