Stephanotis volubilis

Stephanotis volubilis
File:Dregea volubilis W IMG 1597.jpg
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Apocynaceae
Genus:	Stephanotis
Species:	S. volubilis
Binomial name
Stephanotis volubilis (L.f.) S.Reuss, Liede & Meve
Synonyms
Asclepias volubilis L.f. (1782) Fern.-Vill. (1880), nom. superfl. (Hassk.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 419 (1891) Hassk. (1854), nom. superfl. Wattakaka volubilis Hoya viridiflora (L.f.) Stapf in Bot. Mag. 148: t. 8976 (1923) Dregea volubilis R.Br. (1810), nom. superfl. Hoya volubilis Dregea viridiflora (L.f.) Benth. ex Hook.f. (1883) (L.f.) Griff. (1854) Marsdenia volubilis Dregea volubilis var. viridiflora (L.f.) T.Cooke (1904) Wattakaka viridiflora

Stephanotis volubilis, synonyms including Dregea volubilis, is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native from north-east Pakistan eastwards to south China and southwards to Java.

Regional names

"Doodipaala" (Telugu: దూదిపాల) in Telugu, "Kodippaalai" in Tamil, "wattakakka" in Malayalam, "gwedauk" (ဂွေးတောက်) in Myanmar (Burmese).

Description

A stout tall climber, branches often pustular, with:

• Leaves: 3–6 inches long by 2–4 inches broad, rather coriaceous, base rounded or cordate ; nerves 4–6 pairs ; petiole 1–3 inches.
• Peduncles: 1–3 inches, rather slender ; umbels drooping, very many-flowered, subglobose; pedicals 1/2 inch, slender.
• Corolla: 1/2 inch diameter, cupular, lobes triangular.
• Stigma dome-shaped.
• Follicles: 3/4 inch long by 1–1 and half inch diameter, broadly lanceolate, turgid, glabrous.
• Seeds: 2 inch long, broadly ovate, pale, smooth and shining, border thick.

• Climber
  Climber
• Bush
  Bush
• Inflorescence
  Inflorescence
• Fruit
  Fruit

Distribution

Stephanotis volubilis has a very wide distribution in south China and tropical Asia. It is found throughout the Indian subcontinent (the Assam region, Bangladesh, the east and west Himalayas, the rest of India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka); in southeast and south-central China and Taiwan; throughout Indochina (the Andaman Islands, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Nicobar Islands, Thailand and Vietnam); and in parts of Malesia (Java, Malaya and the Philippines). In India, the plant is distributed from Northwest India to Bengal, Assam and the Deccan Peninsula, and southwards from the Konkan. In Sri Lanka, it occurs in the hotter parts of the island.