Apocynaceae family

Slides of Family Apocynaceae

1. Wel Come to All B.Sc. II Year Students in LMS “ANGIOSPERMS SYSTEMATIC, ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY” Unit – III- ( Apocynaceae ) ‘Angiosperms Systematic’ DR. SWATI V. PUNDKAR Assistant Professor Department of Botany Shri Shivaji Science College, Amravati NAAC Accredited ‘A’ Grade

2. FAMILY- APOCYNACEAE Apocynaceae , the dogbane family of flowering plants, including about 400 genera and about 4,555 species of trees, shrubs and herbs. Members of the family are distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Nearly all members of this family are poisonous, and many species are used medicinally because of the presence of cardiac glycosides and various alkaloids. A number are cultivated as ornamentals for their attractive flowers and foliage.

3. Apocynaceae AA Apocynaceae Apocynaceae

4. FAMILY - APOCYNACEAE Nerium indicum Catharanthus roseus Adenium Rauwolfia sarpentina Tabernaemontana diavaricata Plumeria acutifolia P. rubra

5. Major Genera And Species Garden ornamentals belonging to the family Apocynaceae include  periwinkle  ( Vinca ),  oleander  ( Nerium ), yellow oleander ( Thevetia ),  frangipani  ( Plumeria ), Natal plum ( Carissa ) and crepe jasmine ( Tabernaemontana divaricata ). Several species of the genera  Trachelospermum  (especially star jasmine,  T. jasminoides ),  Mandevilla , and  Allamanda  are attractive woody vines.  Dogbane  ( Apocynum ) and bluestar ( Amsonia ) are sometimes grown as ornamentals. The impala lily ( Adenium multiflorum ) is an ornamental  shrub  with star-shaped flowers and large underground  tubers .

6. Habit: There is a great variation in the habit of the plants of this family. They may be herbs, erect or twining shrubs or trees. Vinca rosea (Verna- Sadabahar ) is a perennial herb; Vallaris solanacea (Verna-Ramsar) is a large twining shrub; Nerium indicum (N. odorum ) is a large shrub with beautiful red or white flowers; Thevetia peruviana or Thevetia nerifolia (Verna-Pili kaner ) is a large shrub or a small tree; Plumeria acutifolia is a small sized tree and Alstonia scholaris is a medium sized tree. In some genera, the stem becomes tuber like, e.g., Adenium . The species of Landolphia and Clitandra are climbing shrubs. The latex is present in most of the genera.

7. Root: Tap and branched. Stem: Usually erect, branched, solid, glabrous rarely tuber-like and thick.

8. Leaves: The leaves are simple, petiolate, usually opposite decussate. In rare cases the leaves are alternate or even whorled (e.g., in Nerium odorum , Alstonia , etc.) Usually the leaves are exstipulate and very rarely they may be stipulate.

9. Inflorescence: Usually the inflorescence is of cymose type. It is very rarely solitary as in Vinca . In Carissa , the flowers are found to be arranged in corymbose cymes. In Plumeria , the flowers are arranged in terminal cymes. In Alstonia , the flowers are found to be arranged in umbellate branched panicle cymes. In Rauwolfia, the flowers are arranged in umbellate or corymbose cymes.

10. Flowers: The flowers are pedicellate, bracteate, bracteolate, hermaphrodite, actinomorphic, regular, sometimes slightly, zygomorphic, complete, hypogynous and pentamerous. In rare cases the flowers are tetramerous with reduction to two in the pistil.

11. Calyx: Usually it consists of five sepals, gamosepalous. The calyx is generally divided almost to the base. The aestivation is quincuncial .

12. Corolla: Usually the corolla consists of five petals, gamopetalous. It is generally salver or funnel shaped. The corolla tube usually possesses hairy appendage or scales. The aestivation is contorted.

13. Androecium: It consists of five stamens alternating with the petals. The stamens are situated on the tube or the throat of the corolla (i.e., epipetalous). The filaments are short; anthers introrse , polyandrous or connate and often adhere to the stigma. The antherlobes are sometimes empty at their base and prolonged into spines.(Sagittate type)

14. Gynoecium: It consists of two carpels. The carpels may be free (apocarpous) or connate (syncarpous); superior, sometimes partly inferior as in Plumeria . The style is simple and the stigma is thick and often bilobed. Rarely the number of carpels exceeds, i.e., 3 to 5. Usually a nectar secreting disc is situated beneath the gynoecium. In syncarpous gynoecium, the ovary may be unilocular with parietal placentation or it may be bilocular with axile placentation. In the case of separate ovaries the placentation is marginal. The ovary is superior or half-inferior. Numerous ovules are found to be situated on parietal placentas or in two chambered ovaries on marginal walls .

15. Fruit: In the case of free ovaries, the fruit is a pair of follicles. Sometimes the fruits of separate ovaries are fleshy and indehiscent, or may be one seeded . In the case of syncarpous ovary, usually the fruit is indehiscent, fleshy and berry-like, or a drupe.

16. Seed: In dry fruits the seeds are generally winged, Sometimes the seed bears a tuft of hairs at the base, and sometimes at both ends,. The embryo is straight, with or without endosperm.

17. Pollination: Generally it takes place through the agency of insects.- Entomophily

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19. Economic Importance of Apocynaceae : 1. Vegetables: The pulpy fruits of Carissa carandus (H. Karaunda ) are edible and also pickled. 2. Medicinal: The root of Rauwolfia serpentina (H. Sarpgandha ) are used in lowering blood pressure, sedative, stimulator for uterine contraction and in mental diseases. The juice of leaves is used for removal of opacities of the cornea of the eyes. Anti-cancerous drugs are extracted from Catharanthus roseus. The bark of Alstonia scholaris is a febrifuga . Holarrhena antidysentrica yields a drug which is a cure for amoebic dysentery. 3. Rubber: Many species of Hancora , Dyera , Urceola are the sources of rubber. 4. Poisonous: The seeds of Thevetia contain Thevetine a poisonous glycoside. The latex of Acokanthera is used for poisoning arrows. The bark and wood of Nerium indicum provide rat-poison. 5. Ornamental: Nerium, Catharanthus (syn. Vinca), Thevetia , Wrightia , Allamanda are cultivated in gardens as ornamentals.

20. A list of some important plants is given here: Nerium indicum ; Eng.-Oleander; Verna.- Kaner .-It is a shrub. They are grown as hedge plants. The plants possess medicinal properties. Rauwolfia serpentina ; Verna.- Chhotachand / S arpgandha .-This is a small shrub found in Assam, Dehradun, Bihar, the Western Ghats and Bengal; the roots possess medicinal properties and are used in the treatment of hypertension, mental disorders and related ailments. Thevetia peruviana ; Eng.-Yellow oleander; Verna.- Pilikaner .- It is a shrub. The plants are grown as ornamental. They are also grown as hedge plants. The latex is highly poisonous. Tabernaemontana divaricate –Verna.- Tagar /Swastik- Grown as an ornamental. The red pulp around seed is used as a dye. Wood is refrigerant. Milky juice is used for diseases of eye. Root is acrid, bitter, used as local anodyne and chewed for relief of toothache.