Argyreia roxburghii

Nomenclature

Accepted name/Authority/Place of publication: 

Argyreia roxburghii (Sweet) Choisy, Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 419. 1834.

Synonyms: 

Ipomoea roxburghii Sweet, Hort. Suburb. ed. 2, 289. 1826. 

Argyreia roxburghii var. siamica Craib, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1911. 423. 1911.

Description

Habit: 
Woody climber; stems to 4 m or taller, whitish hairy, glabrescent.
Leaves: 
Leaves broadly ovate to suborbicular, 7–19 by 5.5–15.5 cm, base cordate, apex obtuse, shortly acuminate, underside whitish villous, upper side only moderately so; lateral veins 9–10 pairs; petiole 3–9 cm.
Inflorescences: 
Inflorescence erect or ascending, dichotomous, laxly cymose, 5 to many-flowered; peduncle 6–13 cm long; lowermost bract foliose, ovate-orbicular, 4–7 by 3.8–6 cm, petiolulate, silvery villous, persistent, other bracts and bracteoles oblong-lanceolate, 1.2–2 by 0.4–0.7 cm, deciduous.
Flowers: 
Flower sepals unequal, outer 3 elliptic, 10–12 by 8–11 mm, villous, persistent and reflexed in fruit, inner sepals smaller, broadly ovate, abruptly acuminate, villous at middle, margins glabrous; corolla funnelform, 5–6.5 cm long, pale mauve, throat purple, midpetaline bands sparsely tomentose outside, otherwise glabrous; stamens included, unequal, 16–24 mm; pistil included, disc annular, c. 0.5 mm high, ovary 2 mm long, glabrous, style jointed 1 mm above base.
Fruits: 
Berry globose, 13–15 mm, yellow or blackish, pulpy-soft, cupped by reflexed sepals.
Seeds: 
Seeds 4, subglobose.
Author: 
Staples, G. & P. Traiperm.
References: 

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

Biogeography, Ecology and Natural History

Distribution Map: 
Distribution: 

Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand. 

Ecology: 

In open scrub jungle, dry dipterocarp forest, on dry slopes in
half-shaded places; altitude 100–400 m. 

Phenology: 

Flowering: July–September, December; fruiting: January, November. 

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: 
Tan fak , ma lan fug (Thai).
Infraspecific Characters: 

Like many widespread species A. roxburghii is rather variable and more careful study of the variability is required before infraspecific taxa are recognized.

Craib (loc. cit.) differentiated Thai plants as variety siamica, characterized by broader outer sepals with a rounded apex. The type collection for this variety, Kerr 1395, certainly has elliptic outer sepals with a broadly rounded apex. However all other Thai specimens seen have ovate or elliptic sepals with a tapering acuminate apex. I am accepting a broadly defined species here and not distinguishing the Thai plants as a distinct variety. Berries have been reported to be yellow or black; this requires confirmation. It may be that as ripening proceeds a colour change takes place.

Authorship for webpage

Editor: 
George Staples, Esmond Er
Contributors: 
Classification: 
Mon, 2011-09-26 04:47 -- Esmond
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