Home | > | List of families | > | Apocynaceae subfamilies Asclepiadoideae and Secamonoideae | > | Gomphocarpus | > | swynnertonii |
Synonyms: |
Asclepias nyikana Schltr. Asclepias swynnertonii S. Moore |
Common names: | |
Frequency: | |
Status: | Native |
Description: |
Perennial herb, growing from a woody taproot. Stems few to many, erect, unbranched, up to c. 40 cm tall, densely covered in spreading white hairs, sometimes the hairs restricted to vertical bands. Leaves opposite, (sub)sessile, ovate, up to c. 6 × 3 cm, slightly cordate at the base, mostly hairless; margin slightly rolled under. Flowers in extra-axillary, 6-13-flowered nodding umbels. Corolla lobes spreading to reflexed, yellow to greenish-yellow, sometimes tinged brownish-purple. Corona lobes attached c. 1 mm above the base of the staminal column, laterally compressed. Follicle erect on a twisted pedicel, fusiform or lanceolate, up to 9 × 2 cm, pubescent. |
Notes: | |
Derivation of specific name: | swynnertonii: named after Charles Francis Massey Swynnerton (1877-1938), well-known naturalist, who first recorded and collected many species of flora and fauna in and around the Chirinda Forest |
Habitat: | In montane grassland and Protea scrub. |
Altitude range: (metres) | 1000 - 2400 m |
Flowering time: | |
Worldwide distribution: | Angola, Shaba-DRC, southern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe. |
Zimbabwe distribution: | N,C,E |
Growth form(s): | |
Endemic status: | |
Red data list status: | |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Images last updated: | Thursday 13 August 2015 |
Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 73. (Includes a picture). Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 29. Goyder, D.J. & Nicholas, A. (2001). A revision of Gomphocarpus R. Br. Kew Bulletin 56 Pages 810 - 812. Goyder, D.J., Gilbert, M.G. & Venter, H.J.T. (2020). Apocynaceae (Part 2) Flora Zambesiaca 7(2) Pages 299 - 300. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 20. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 88. |
Home | > | List of families | > | Apocynaceae subfamilies Asclepiadoideae and Secamonoideae | > | Gomphocarpus | > | swynnertonii |