CYNANCHUM ACUTUM subsp. ACUTUM

Family and Genus:- See- APOCYNACEAE

Common Names:- Stranglewort.

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Cynanchum (Gr) Dog-strangler. (some are poisonous).

Acutum (L) Acutely pointed.

General description:- Woody climbing plant, with milky latex, hairless (glabrous),

twining, bluish-green.

Stems:-

1) Slender to 3 m.

Leaves:-

1) 2-15 x 1·5-10 cm, petioles, 1-5 cm, sagittate, subacute.

Flowers:-

1) Umbels, to many-flowered, peduncles 1-6 cm.

2) Corolla, 8-12 mm diam, white or pink, glabrous, lobes c. 5 x 1 mm, linear,

subacute.

3) Corona-segments, triangular.

Fruit:-

1) Follicles, c. 8 x 1 cm.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Scrub, hedgerows, riverbanks, that are close to the sea.

Distribution:- Fairly common around the Mediterranean, absent from Cyprus.

Limited distribution on Crete.

Flowering time:- June-Sept.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton