ASCLEPIADACEAE 377 
1. S. baumii Decne. 
A scandent woody vine, the stems rather slender. Leaves elliptic to 
elliptic-ovate, rounded or somewhat acuminate, base rounded, 7 to 15 em 
long, 4 to 8 cm wide, pubescent, the lower surface rather densely so. 
Cymes axillary, solitary or in pairs, trichotomous, lax, 4 to 9 em long. Calyx 
small, greenish. Corolla purple, rotate, 5 mm in diameter, the lobes ovate 
or oblong-ovate. Follicles cylindric, slender, pubescent, 5 to 9 em long. 
(Fl. Filip. pl. 188.) 
In thickets, occasional, fl. Oct.—_Dec.; widely distributed in the Philip- 
pines. Endemic. 
3. ASCLEPIAS Linnaeus 
Erect perennial herbs with milky sap. Leaves opposite or whorled. 
Flowers in peduncled or sessile umbels, terminal or lateral, in our species 
red and orange-yellow. Calyx deeply 5-parted, with 5 to 10 glandular scales 
at the base within. Corolla rotate, deeply 5-lobed, the lobes valvate or 
slightly overlapping, usually reflexed when open. Corona of 5 processes 
arising from the staminal-column and adnate to it above, the lobes ovate, 
coneave-hooded, with usually a horn-like tooth projecting from within. 
Stamens inserted on the base of the corolla; filaments connate into a tube; 
anthers with a membranaceous appendage inflexed over the apex of the 
style; pollen-masses 1 in each cell. Follicles variable, the pericarp usually 
coriaceous. Seeds comose. (The ancient Greek name.) 
Species 80, chiefly in America and Africa, 1 introduced in the Philippines. 
1. A. cuRASSAVICA L. Milkweed. 
An erect, simple or slightly branched, perennial, glabrous herb 40 to 60 
em high. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, base 
narrowed, 7 to 13 cm long. Umbels axillary and terminal, peduncled, few- 
to many-flowered. Sepals linear, green. Corolla-lobes red, reflexed, oblong, 
about 8 mm long. Column stipitate, the corona yellow, the flower, including 
the reflexed corolla, 1.2 to 1.4 em long. Follicles lanceolate, acuminate, 
narrowed at both ends, 6 to 8 cm long, 1 to 1.3 cm in diameter in the middle. 
(Fl. Filip. pl. 71.) 
In open waste places, fl. most of the year; common and widely distributed 
in the Philippines. A native of tropical America, now a weed in most trop- 
ical countries. 
4. ISCHNOSTEMMA King & Gamble 
Twining slender vines with opposite leaves. Inflorescence of slender; 
few-flowered, lateral, peduncled umbels, the pedicels slender. Calyx 5-fid. 
Corolla rotate, the tube short, the lobes long, slender, imbricate. Corona of 
5, membranaceous, lanceolate, flattened processes attached to the base of the 
staminal-column. Staminal-column attached to the base of the corolla-tube, 
the anthers slender, the appendages short, thin, obtuse, connivent over the 
apex of the style; pollen-masses 1 in each cell, pendulous, ellipsoid. Ovary 
of 2 carpels; styles connate above. Follicles slender, long-acuminate, ian- 
ceolate in outline. Seeds small, flat, winged, comose. (Greek “vestige” 
and “wreath” or “crown.’’) 
A monotypic genus. 
