Asclepidaceae

Dr Adavesh B Holeyache
• Characters of Asclepiadaceae:
• Plants herbs, shrubs, mostly twiners and rarely trees; leaves
opposite, simple, entire margin rarely alternate; inflorescence
cymose or racemose; flowers hermaphrodite, pentamerous;
• calyx of 5 sepals, imbricate; petals 5, gamopetalous, corona
arising as outgrowth of petals or stamens;
• stamens 5, fused with stigmatic disc forming gynostegium;
pollens forming pollinia;
• carpels bicarpellary, syncarpous, ovaries and style free, only
stigma fused to form disc, marginal placentation,
• fruit follicles.
• Habit:
• Perennial herbs (Asclepias) or shrubs (Calotropis, Leptadenia),
climbers (Cryptostegia, Daemia), succulent (Stapelia) with latex.
• Root:
• A deep branched tap root.
• Stem:
• Herbaceous, week and climbing or succulent, woody below
(Calotropis), erect, twiner or climbers (Cryptostegia) cylindrical,
rarely hairy and solid, latex present.
• Leaves:
• Simple, petiolate, exstipulate, entire, opposite rarely whorled,
waxy; in Dischidia rafflesiana leaves are modified into pitchers,
reduced or absent (Periploca), succulent in Hoya
• Floral characters:
• Inflorescence:
• Mostly umbellate cymes (Calotropis) or dichasial cyme ending
in monochasial cyme.
• Flower:
• Bracteate or ebracteate, pedicellate, complete, hermaphrodite,
actinomorphic, rarely zygomorphic (Ceropegia), pentamerous,
hypogynous.
• Calyx:
• Sepals 5, polysepalous or gamosepalous-fused near the base,
quincuncial aestivation, sometimes valvate.
• Corolla:
• Petals 5, gamopetalous, 5 lobed, twisted aestivation or valvate
• Androecium:
• Stamens 5, synandrous, gynostegium (stamens fused with
stigmatic disc to form gynostegium), anthers dithecous
• Gynaecieum
• Bicarpellary, syncarpous, ovaries free, superior, enclosed in
staminal tube, ovules many on marginal placentation
• Fruit:
• An etaerio of two, often widely divergent follicles; in some one
follicle is abortive.
• Seed
• Many small, compressed with long silky hairs.
• Pollination:
• Entomophilous, translator mechanism.
• Shrubs, stem rounded.
• Leaves 10-16 x 8-10 cm, smaller in branchlets; elliptic-ovate to
obovate, apex acute or obtuse, base cordate; lateral nerves 5-7 pairs,
adpressed pubescent when young, becoming glabrous on maturity.
• Flowers pale purple or greenish-white, 3 cm across; pedicels to 3 cm
long, stout;
• calyx lobes to 3 mm long; corolla campanulate, tube short, lobes ovate
to oblong, recurved; staminal corona of 5 vertical lobes, 1 cm long.
Fruit saccate, to 6 x 3 cm, ovoid; seeds many.
Hemidesmus indicus

• Morphological characteristics
• Anantmool is a perennial, slender, twining undershrub with woody and
fragrant rootstock.
• Stems are numerous, slender, wiry, and laticiferous.
• Leaves are simple, opposite, variable, elliptic–oblong to linear–lanceolate,
variegated, and white above and silvery-white pubescent beneath.
• Floral characteristics
• Flowers are greenish purple, crowded in axillary cymes in small
compact clusters.
• Fruits (follicles) are paired, cylindrical, pointed, and slender.
Seeds are oblong in shape.
• Flowering is usually sparse and occurs in October, while fruits
mature in January.
• Distribution
• The species is distributed throughout the tropical and
subtropical parts of India, especially in upper Gangetic plains,
Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and South India.
• It generally occurs on sub-ravine slopes, twining on shrubs and
trees.
• Climate and soil
• The plant is found throughout the tropical and subtropical parts
of India.
• Loam to silt-clay loam soils with appropriate humus are suitable
for its cultivation.
• The soil should be slightly alkaline with a pH of 7.5–8.5.
• Propagation material
• The plant can best be propagated from stem and rootstock
cuttings obtained from more than one-year-old plants.
• Rootstock cuttings have better sprouting and survival rates than
stem cuttings.
• Agro-technique
• Nursery technique
• Raising propagules : Planting stock is raised in nursery through
stem and root cuttings. The cuttings are planted in polythene
bags or styrofoam trays between July and September. The
cuttings establish or initiate roots in 30–45 days. The cuttings
may be treated with commercially available root-promoting
hormones before being planted in the nursery. Nursery can also
be raised in shade net house in early summer under humid
conditions.
• Crop maturity and harvesting : A minimum period of two-and-a-
half years is required for root maturity. Harvesting may be done
in December and January.
• Post-harvest management : The roots are dug with care and some
part of the root is left within the soil for regeneration. The
harvested roots are washed, dried in shade, and stored in
moisture-free packing in cool and dry places.
Assignment
• List the members of the Asclepidaceae family members