Argyreia capitiformis

Nomenclature

Accepted name/Authority/Place of publication:

Argyreia capitiformis (Poir.) Ooststr., Fl.Males. I, 6: 941. 1972; R.C. Fang & Staples in C.Y. Wu & P.H. Raven,Fl. China 16: 317. 1995; Mill, Fl. Bhutan 7(2): 843. 1999.

Synonyms:

Convolvulus capitiformis Poir. in Lam., Encycl. Suppl. 3: 469. 1814.

Lettsomia capitiformis (Poir.) Kerr, Fl. Siam. 3(2): 30. 1954.

Convolvulus capitatus Vahl, Symb. Bot. 3: 28. 1794, nomen illegit. non Desv. (1792) nec Cav. (1793).

Ipomoea capitata (Vahl) Roem. & Schult., Syst. Veg. 4: 238. 1819.

Argyreia capitata (Vahl) Choisy, Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 423. 1834.

Lettsomia capitata (Vahl) Miq., Fl. Ned. Ind. 2: 591. 1856.

Lettsomia strigosa Roxb., Fl. Ind. 2: 80. 1824.

Lettsomia peguensis C.B.Clarke in Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 4: 193. 1883.

Biogeography, Ecology and Natural History

Distribution Map:

Distribution:

NE India, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia. Type specimen from the “East Indies.”

Ecology:

Dry evergreen forest, degraded hardwood forest, along trails and
roads, margins of cultivated land, thickets, secondary vegetation, on diverse
soils and substrates; altitude: 50–1400 m.

Phenology:

Flowering: January, October–December; fruiting: March.

Author:

Staples, G. & P. Traiperm.

References:

Staples, G. & P. Traiperm. 2010. Argyreia in Convolvulaceae. Fl. Thailand 10(3): 337–371.

Other information

Common names and uses:

Chingcho luang, du lan, fon saen ha, yan khon, en khon (Thai).

General comments:

Argyreia capitiformis thrives in disturbed habitats and has no doubt benefited from human activity that has opened open native forests for agriculture and development.

Infraspecific Characters:

Two distinct phenotypes are observed in Thai specimens: one has capitate heads with tightly overlapping bracts and an indumentum that is dense and velvety; the other has more open cymose inflorescences and the indumentum is coarser, the trichomes longer and erect-patent. These need to be investigated to see how they fit into the taxonomically confused complex group of species that includes A. capitiformis.