Apocynaceae


Alyxia oliviformis


Plant Characteristics
Cultivation
Scientific Names

Apocynaceae >



Read about Apocynaceae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Apocynaceae (from the genus Apocynum, the ancient name of the dogbane, from the Greek). DogBane Family. Fig. 49. Herbs, shrubs or trees with milky juice, often climbing: leaves opposite or whorled, rarely alternate, entire, exstipulate: flowers bisexual, regular; calyx 4-5-parted; corolla 4-5-lobed, hypogynous, gamopetalous, usually with appendages or folds in the throat, convolute or valvate; stamens 4-5, epipetalous, alternating with the corolla lobes; anthers usually sagittate and acute; pollen granular; hypogynous disk usually present and variously lobed; ovaries usually 2, rarely more or less united; mostly superior, each 1-celled, many-seeded, style 1, usually bearing a fleshy ring below the solitary stigma: fruit follicular with comose seeds, or indehiscent, or berry-like, or of nutlets, sometimes winged or prickly.

One hundred and thirty genera and about 1,000 species occur, mostly in tropical countries in both hemispheres. Five or 6 species reach northeastern North America. The family is related to the Asclepiadaceae and Gentianaceae. The milky juice, sagittate anthers, absence of corona, stylar ring, and usually separate ovaries but connate styles and stigmas, are important characteristics.

Many species of Landolphia yield commercial caoutchouc, as do also other genera, such as Urceola and Willoughbya. Some are very poisonous, e. g., Tanghinia of Madagascar; also Cerbera and Acocanthera. Tanghinia, the ordeal tree of Madagascar, "is the most poisonous of plants; a seed no larger than an almond suffices to kill twenty people." Death has followed the use of oleander wood as meat-skewers. An infusion of its leaves is an insecticide; of its bark, a rat-poison. Some are heart-poisons, for example Strophanthus and Aspidosperma (quebracho bark). The bark of Alstonia is a tonic. Allamanda cathartica is purgative. Several species furnish edible fruits tasting like citron. Wrightia tinctoria furnishes an indigo; W. tomentosa, a yellow dye.

About 20 to 25 genera are in cultivation in N. America as ornamental plants, mostly in the South or in the greenhouse. Among these are: Allamanda; Carissa (Caraunda, Christ’s Thorn); Amsonia; Apocynum (Dogbane); Nerium (Oleander); Tabernaemontana (Crape Jasmine, Nero's Crown); Trachelospermum (Star Jasmine); and Vinca (Periwinkle).CH


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Genera

The family, as currently recognized, includes some 1500 species divided in about 424 generawp.

Apocynoideae

Acokanthera Adenium Aganonerion Aganosma
Alafia Allamanda Allomarkgrafia Allowoodsonia
Alstonia Alyxia Amocalyx Ambelania
Amsonia Ancylobotrys Anechites Angadenia
Anodendron Apocynum Arduina Artia
Asketanthera Aspidosperma Baissea Beaumontia
Bousigonia Cabucala Callichilia Calocrater
Cameraria Carissa Carpodinus Carruthersia
Carvalhoa Catharanthus Cerbera Cerberiopsis
Chamaeclitandra Chilocarpus Chonemorpha Cleghornia
Clitandra Condylocarpon Couma Craspidospermum
Crioceras Cycladenia Cyclocotyla Cylindropsis
Delphyodon Dewevrella Dictyophleba Dipladenia
Diplorhynchus Dyera Ecdysanthera Echites
Elytropus Epigynium Eucorymbia Farquharia
Fernaldia Forsteronia Funtumia Galactophora
Geissospermum Gonioma Grisseea Gymnema
Hancornia Haplophyton Himatanthus Holarrhena
Hunteria Hymenolophus Ichnocarpus Isonema
Ixodonerium Kamettia Kibatalia Kopsia
Lacmellea Landolphia Laubertia Laxoplumeria
Lepinia Lepiniopsis Leuconotis Lochnera
Lyonsia Macoubea Macropharynx Macrosiphonia
Malouetia Mandevilla Mascarenhasia Melodinus
Mesechites Micrechtites Microplumeria Molongum
Mortoniella Motandra Mucoa Neobracea
Neocouma Nerium Nouettea Ochrosia
Odontadenia Oncinotis Orthopichonia Pachypodium
Pachouria Papuechites Parahancornia Parameria
Parepigynum Parsonsia Peltastes Pentalinon
Petchia Picralima Plectaneia Pleiocarpa
Pleioceras Plumeria Pottsia Prestonia
Pycnobotrya Quiotania Rauwolfia Rhabdadenia
Rhazya Rhigospira Rhodocalyx Rhyncodia
Saba Schizozygia Secondatia
Sindechites Skytanthus Spirolobium Spongiosperma
Stemmadenia Stephanostegia Stephanostema Stipecoma
Strempeliopsis Strophanthus Tabernaemontana Tabernanthe
Temnadenia Thenardia Thevetia Tintinnabularia
Trachelospermum Urceola Urnularia Vahadenia
Vallariopsis Vallaris Vallesia Vinca
Voacanga Willughbeia Woytkowskia Wrightia
Xylinabaria Xylinabariopsis

The following genera used to belong to the family Asclepiadaceaewp:

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