Dear Members as per the decision of the Group we are celebrating November as a *Month of Apocynaceae*. In this regard I have to coordinate the matter. We will be posting identified or unidentified members of the family as per posting guidelines in the *First Week of November*. As most of you are aware, According to APG <http://www.answers.com/topic/angiosperm-phylogeny-group>classification, the *Asclepiadaceae* is now a former plant<http://www.answers.com/topic/plant>family, presently treated as a subfamily (subfamily *Asclepiadoideae*) in the family Apocynaceae<http://www.answers.com/topic/apocynaceae-1>Please see the link given below for more info. **
*http://www.springerlink.com/content/4722q2505724425g/* * * *For our purpose on the efloraindia, we will be dealing with the family Apocynaceae as a whole. * *However I am giving details of both the families separately in two mails with links and other info**. This will enable us to understand both these groups of plants in a precise way. In our group (Efloraindia) all members are not from the Botany background, so here only little info is being given on the latest classification from the paper cited above. You can download this paper fully from springer website* * * *Abstract of the above paper* The Asclepiadaceae, as traditionally defined, have repeatedly been shown to be an apomorphic derivative of the Apocynaceae. It has often been recommended that the Asclepiadaceae be subsumed within the Apocynaceae in order to make the latter monophyletic. To date, however, no comprehensive, unified classification has been established. Here we provide a unified classification for the Apocynaceae, which consists of 424 genera distributed among five subfamilies: Rauvolfioideae, Apocynoideae, Periplocoideae, Secamonoideae, and Asclepiadoideae. Keys to the subfamilies and tribes are provided, with lists of genera that (as far as we have been able to ascertain) are recognized in each tribe. For more details about APG Classification and Characters of Families pls see the following link http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/welcome.html *Here is the info about Asclepiadaceae (as it is described traditionally). Now subfamily of Apocynaceae-**Asclepiadoideae* * * ** * * *Aclepiadaceae (The Milk Weed Family)* 1. These are erect or twining shrubs or perennial herbs, very rarely trees. Sometime fleshy and with reduced non-functional or obsolescent leaves. 2. Leaves opposite or whorled, entire or very rarely lobed or irregularly dentate, exstipulate. 3. Inflorescence cymose, often umbelliform. Sometimes more or les racemosely fascicles along a simple or branched rachis. 4. Flowers generally pentamerous. 5. Calyx 5 free, 5-partite and slightly fused at base. 6. Corolla 5 fused, pentafid, short tube 7. Androecium united in a ring and adnate to style apex. The short filaments ornamented with a nectariferous CORONA of varied forms, the whole forming a pentangular stigmatic disc (GYNOSTEGIUM). Pollen in tetrads united in waxy masses (POLLINIA) attached by caudicles of varied forms to sutured corpuscles derived from style apex 8. Gynoecium formed of 2 free carples united by their style apices and enclosed by the staminal tube. Stigmas connate to form a pentangular disc with which the anthers coherent to form the GYNOSTEGIUM. 9. Fruit an etaerio of two often widely divergent follicles of which sometime one is occasionally abortive 10. Seeds many small usually having a tuft of long hairs which help in dispersal. Some links on the pics and other information on the family (asclepiadaceae) from net http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/asclepiad.htm http://foc.bio-mirror.cn/images/Gilbert/asclepiadaceae_types.html http://www.succulents.co.za/Asclepiadaceae/ http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Asclepiadaceae/ http://botany.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/imaxxasc.htm http://www.keiriosity.com/gallery/main.php/v/plants/Asclepiadaceae/ http://www.succulent-plant.com/families/asclepiadaceae.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/mordiscos/sets/72157594548060339/ http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?family=Asclepiadaceae http://www.lithops.net/asclepia.htm http://www.stridvall.se/flowers/gallery/Asclepiadaceae Regarding the posts already appered on Efloraindia some 30 different threads/mails are there. I will be posting them tomarrow for the information and reference of the members. Today, Vijaysankar Ji has posted som member of the Apocynaceae. These threads have not been included as these are very much recent. Tomarrow i will also try to provide info about the rest part of Apocynaceae (tradionally described or old Apocynaceae) Till then please prepare your pics to post on Efloraindia keeping in mind posting guidelines. Particulary size of the images. -- Regards Dr Balkar Singh Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology Arya P G College, Panipat Haryana-132103 09416262964
