Ceropegia elegans
Ceropegia elegans (illustration from Curtis 's Botanical Magazine, Volume 57, table 3015, 1830)
Ceropegia elegans is a species of the subfamily of milkweed plants ( Asclepiadoideae ).
- 4.1 Literature
- 4.2 Notes and references
Description, phenology and ecology
Appearance and leaf
Ceropegia elegans is a perennial, herbaceous plant. It has fibrous roots. The leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The very slender petiole is about 1.9 to 2.5 cm long. The slightly fleshy leaf blades are ovate with pointed or tapered upper end at a length of 5 to 10 cm and a width of 2.5 to 3.75 cm.
Inflorescence and flower
The inflorescence stem 1.25 to 5 cm long. The inflorescence contains only three to five flowers. The bracts are subulate. The peduncle is short. The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and fünfzählig with double perianth. The five sepals are filiform and glabrous. The corolla is about 3.2 to 4.5 cm long. The five petals are fused in the lower part to the outside bare, strongly curved corolla tube ( Sympetalie ). The lower part ( " Kronkessel " ) is spherical or oblong - inflated. It narrows the corolla tube to expand to flower muzzle like a funnel, where it has a diameter of 1.9 to 2.5 cm. The " Kronkessel " is striped purple, the upper part of the corolla tube is fitted tightly with purple spots. The tip of the interstaminalen outer corona are cut 1.25 mm long and centered; thus showing the outer corona ten identical, linear shaped appendages that bear purple spots. The purple-colored, bare tip of staminal inner corona are at a length of about 2 mm subulate, stand upright and tilt up towards the outer end. Ansari (1984) and Jagtap et al. (1999) give as flowering period June to December. The fertilization is done by small flies.
Fruit and seeds
The very slim, turning round, membranous follicles are about 18 to 23 cm long. The seeds are linear with a length of about 1.25 cm in outline. The fruits have been observed from December to April.
Chromosome number
The chromosome number is 2n = 66
Occurrence
Ceropegia elegans comes in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as in Sri Lanka, ( Ceropegia elegans var gardneri ) and Myanmar before. It thrives there at altitudes of about 1000 to 2000 meters.
Taxonomy
The first description of Ceropegia elegans was carried out in 1830 by Nathaniel Wallich in Curtis 's Botanical Magazine, Volume 57, panel 3015th Another illustration published in 1835 John Lindley on panel 1706 20 band from Edward 's Botanical Register. There are several synonyms for Ceropegia elegans Wall:. Ceropegia sphenanantha Arn. Wight & Wight in ( and based thereon misspelling Ceropegia sphenanthera Decne. ), Ceropegia myosorensis Wight. Ceropegia walkerae Wight, Ceropegia elegans var walkerae ( Wight ) Trimen, Ceropegia gardneri Thwaites ex Hook. , Ceropegia similis NEBr. , Ceropegia ledgeri NEBr. , Ceropegia elegans var gardneri ( Thwaites ex Hook. ) H.Huber. The variety Ceropegia elegans var walkerae ( Wight ) Trimen ( = Ceropegia walkerae Wight ) had already been collected by Herbert Huber 1957.
According to the phylogenetic analysis of Surveswaran et al. 2009 is Ceropegia elegans very basal to the other Ceropegia species of the Western Ghats.