Leaves opposite, simple, entire, shortly petioled, penninerved; axillary glands many in a fringe; stipules 0
Flowers axillary, solitary or paired, fairly large, white or pink
Calyx small to medium-sized, divided almost to base; lobes 5, subulate
Corolla salver-shaped; tube slender, cylindric, slightly widened near mouth; mouth constricted, velvety within, without appendages; lobes large, overlapping to the left
Stamens in widened part of tube; filaments very short; anthers 4-locular, free from stigma, ovate-lanceolate, acute, shortly and obtusely 2-lobed at base
Disc replaced by two long, linear glands; glands alternating with carpels
Ovary of 2 free carpels; style filiform; stigma depressed-capitate with a long, hyaline, reflexed frill at base and a minute, obtuse, 2-lobed apiculus surrounded by a very short, erect, membranous rim; ovules many, 2-seriate
Global: Species 8, 1 in India and Sri Lanka, the others confined to Madagascar
Southern Africa: A Madagascan species, *Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don, is a widespread, sometimes cultivated, weed of waste places in warm, dry areas, especially in eastern southern Africa
References:
CODD, L.E. 1963. Apocynaceae. Flora of southern Africa 26
DON, G. 1838. A general history of the dichlamydeous plants 4. Rivington, London. Originally issued as: A general system of gardening and botany
LINNAEUS, C. 1753. Species plantarum. Laurentius Salvius, Stockholm
PLAIZIER, A.C. 1985. Apocynaceae: Adenium, Catharanthus and Diplorhynchus. Flora zambesiaca 7,2
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.
