Herbs or shrubs, frequently twining, rarely leafless parasites (Cuscuta)
Leaves alternate, simple, sometimes palmately or pinnately lobed (scale-like in Cuscuta); stipules usually 0
Flowers regular, bisexual, often showy, in pedunculate, bracteate, axillary cymes or sometimes solitary
Calyx (4)5(6)-partite, persistent, imbricate
Corolla united, usually only slightly 5-lobed, campanulate or funnel-shaped, rarely cylindric
Disc (nectary) often present and surrounding base of ovary
Stamens 5, alternating with corolla lobes, arising from base of corolla tube; filaments with anthers 2-thecous and dehiscing longitudinally
Ovary superior, 1-4-locular, entire or sometimes deeply lobed, with 1-4 basal ovules in each locule; styles 1 or 2, terminal on ovary or gynobasic, sometimes with the 2 styles connate at base; stigmas terete, capitate, dilated, or linear
Fruit capsular or indehiscent
Seeds as many as ovules or fewer, glabrous, villous, woolly, or verrucose; embryo straight; cotyledons foliaceous, sometimes small or 0 (Cuscuta); endosperm scanty to fairly copious
Nomenclature:
Convolvulaceae
Meeuse: 641 (1957)
Verdcourt: 1 (1963)
Gonçalves: 1 (1987)
Meeuse & Welman: 1 (2000)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Genera ± 55, species ± 1700, cosmopolitan, especially warm regions, mostly natives of tropical Asia and America, extending to Australia, Africa and Madagascar
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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.
