Asclepias longissima Goyder

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Habit
Brachystegia woodland
Tondwa GMA, Nsama District
Mar 2024
Photo: Nick Wightman

Inflorescence
Brachystegia woodland
Tondwa GMA, Nsama District
Mar 2024
Photo: Nick Wightman

Flower
Brachystegia woodland
Tondwa GMA, Nsama District
Mar 2024
Photo: Nick Wightman

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Synonyms:	Gomphocarpus longissimus K. Schum.
Common names:
Frequency:	Rare
Status:	Native
Description:	Perennial herb with a single annual stem arising from a tuber; stems 0.5–1 m long, unbranched, erect, glabrous or minutely pubescent above, lacking leaves in upper parts. Leaves with petiole 1–5 mm long; lamina 13–27 × 0.5–1.5 cm, narrowly linear to linear-lanceolate, apex attenuate, the base cuneate or narrowly truncate, margins revolute, glabrous. Inflorescences extra-axillary with 2–4 flowers in a nodding umbel, peduncles 1–2.5 cm long, minutely pubescent; bracts filiform, pubescent; pedicels 1.5–2 cm long, minutely pubescent. Sepals 2–3 × 1 mm, triangular, acute, pubescent. Corolla strongly reflexed, purple outside, green tinged red within, pubescent on outer surface and towards margins within, inner surface papillate elsewhere; lobes 7–10 × 4–6 mm, ovate, acute, plane or weakly replicate. Corona lobes attached c.1 mm above the base of the staminal column, 4.5–7 × 3–5 mm, 1–1.5 times height of column, laterally compressed, complicate above, solid in lower half, quadrate, upper margins rounded and densely papillate, highest towards inner margin, pale green, sometimes tinged with purple.
Type location:	Tanzania
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	longissima: longest, presumably in reference to the long, narrow leaves.
Habitat:	Generally on rocky ground in open Brachystegia woodland or grassland.
Altitude range:	500 - 1500 m
Flowering time:	Mar - Apr(-May)
Worldwide distribution:	Southwestern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
Zambian distribution (Flora Zambesiaca):	N
Zambian distribution (Provinces):
Growth form(s):	Perennial.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Monday 22 July 2024
Literature:	Binns, B. (1968). A First Check List of the Herbaceous Flora of Malawi The Government Printer, Zomba, Malawi Page 19. Goyder, D.J. (2009). A synopsis of Asclepias (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) in tropical Africa Kew Bulletin 64 Pages 375 - 376. (Includes a picture). Goyder, D.J., Gilbert, M.G. & Venter, H.J.T. (2020). Apocynaceae (Part 2) Flora Zambesiaca 7(2) Pages 264 - 265. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Asclepias longissima:

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Flora of Malawi: Asclepias longissima
Flora of Mozambique: Asclepias longissima

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Asclepias longissima
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Asclepias longissima
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Asclepias longissima
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Asclepias longissima
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Asclepias longissima
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Asclepias longissima
JSTOR Plant Science: Asclepias longissima
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Asclepias longissima
Plants of the World Online: Asclepias longissima
Tropicos: Asclepias longissima
Wikipedia: Asclepias longissima