Funastrum clausum
Diagnostic description 4
Funastrum clausum (Jacq.) Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 13: 283. 1914.
Basionym: Asclepias clausa Jacq.
Synonym: Sarcostemma clausum (Jacq.) Schult.
Herbaceous vine, twining, 4-5 m in length, with abundant milky latex. Stems cylindrical, glabrous, slender. Leaves opposite; blades 3-6 × 0.8-2 cm, elliptical or elliptic-lanceolate, the apex obtuse with a small, tapering point, the base obtuse or rounded, the margins entire; upper surface puberulous, with a prominent midvein, with a pair of triangular glands at the union with the petiole; lower surface pale green, dull, puberulous, with a prominent midvein; petioles 0.5-3 mm long, pubescent; stipules triangular, minute. Flowers numerous (10-20), arranged in umbelliform cymes; peduncle 4-12 cm long; pedicels 1-2 cm long, pubescent. Calyx green, the sepals triangular, pubescent on the outer surface, ca. 3 mm long; corolla rotate, white, pubescent outside, the lobes ovate, ca. 7 mm long; corona of oblongobovoid vescicles, white. Follicles cylindrical, 5-8 × 1 cm.
Phenology: Flowering from January to October and fruiting from November to January.
Status: Exotic, cultivated, although uncommon in the Virgin Islands.
Distribution 5
Distribution: Cited from St. Croix by West (1793) and by Eggers (1879) and from St. Thomas by Krebs (1847). From southern North America to Argentina, including the Antilles.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Bob Peterson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6174210155_fb529bcd4c.jpg
- (c) Tyrrhium, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7120/7554211180_0a688c1e4c_k.jpg
- (c) Reinaldo Aguilar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8341/8240277579_2348aafb77_o.jpg
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435100
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435675
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- World Flora Online
