34^ Plants and their Ways in South Africa 



apparently springing from the upper end of the petiole, which 

 is adnate to the inflorescence axis, so that as Goeble points out, 

 the food materials passing from the leaves to the ripening seeds 

 do not have to go down the length of the long petioles and up 

 again as they do in many water plants. Cape Flats, Grahams- 

 town, Uitenhage Div., Transkei. 



Order Apocynace^. 



Flowers perfect, regular. Calyx deeply 5-lobed. Corolla 

 salver- or funnel-shaped. Petals twisted in the bud. Stamens 

 5, alternating with and upon the petals, with short filaments. 

 Anthers more or less conniving. Disk usually present. Carpels 

 2, separate or united. Fruit a capsule, berry, or drupe. Shrubs 

 with usually climbing, generally opposite leaves and usually 

 poisonous, milky juice. Internal phloem is present. 



The Oleander (Neriiim) and Periwinkle (yinca) belong to this genus. 



A. Carpels u?iited i?ito a 2-celled berry or drupe. 



Carissa. — Milky shrubs with forked spreading branches, 

 opposite rigid leaves, and forked or twice-forked spines in the 

 axils. Berry delicious. From Knysna district to Natal. 



A A. Carpels separate ; style si?igle. 

 B. Not spi?iy or fleshy. 



Strophanthus. — Glands at the base of the calyx. Corolla 

 funnel-shaped. Petals with very long points. Throat furnished 

 with a 2 -parted scale between the petals. Stamens closely 

 surrounding the stigma, taper-pointed, and often bearded. 

 Follicles with long hairy seeds. Flowers corymbose or soli- 

 tary. 



Climbing or erect shrubs with opposite or whorled leaves. Eastern. 

 Furnishing the drug Stropanthin. 



Acokanthera. — Shrubs or small trees with leathery leaves 

 and corymbose dichasia. Flowers white or tinged with pink. 



A. venenata (Kafir gift boom) has sweet scented flowers 

 and purple berries. The plant is very poisonous. The Zulus 

 obtain poison for their arrows from the stem and root. 



BB. Spiny shrubs with succulent stems. 



