Zanonia

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Zanonia

Description

Medium-sized liana to 15 m long, woody at base, leafy stem 3(-5) mm diam., dioecious. Leaves: Flowers small, creamy-white; Fruit rather large, capsular, elongate-cylindrical, claviform, with truncate apex opening by 3 inward curving apical valves. Seeds compressed, longitudinally winged all around the seed, faces smooth, margin faint, edge entire.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical, Malesia east to New Guinea present, South China present, South and NE India present
One species with two subspecies. South and NE India, South China, Indochina, through Malesia east to New Guinea.

Morphology

1 The globose calyx in bud is membranous, and closed at apex, but mostly the very apex shows 5 minute appendages proving that the calyx is morphologically 5-merous. However, at anthesis the globose bud splits into (2 or) 3 triangular ± concave sepals. The five petals are thick-fleshy and drop off after anthesis. 2 In the female flowers of Giesen 76 (Zanonia indica subsp. orientalis var. paludosa) the staminodes are distinctly stamen-like, each with a small anther, including an indication of the apical slit at apex. It could not be verified whether they contain viable pollen.

Citation

L. 1916 – In: Engl., Pflanzenr. 66: 27
L. 2008 – In: Fl. Thailand: 540
W.J.de Wilde 2007 – In: Blumea: 282
C.B.Clarke 1879 – In: Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 2: 633
Keraudren 1975: p. 15. – In: Aubrév. & J.-F.Leroy, Fl. Cambodge, Laos & Vietnam 15: pl. 4
Cogn. 1881 – In: A.DC. & C.DC., Monogr. Phan. 3: 925