Stephania cyanantha

Family: Menispermaceae

Country of Origin: tropical Africa

Description: Somewhat woody, twining, completely glabrous liane; stem and branches succulent. Leaves with slender petiole 3–5 cm. long; blade triangular-orbicular to orbicular, rarely reniform, acuminate to obtuse at apex, entire or with the margins slightly undulate, 4.5–6.5 cm. long and wide, membranous; basal nerves 10–12, palmate. Male inflorescences of false umbels of subglobular cymes, usually arising from leafless stems, 1–2.5 cm. in diameter; peduncles and pedicels very short. Male flowers with 6 obovate-incurved, single-nerved sepals 1.5–2 mm. long and 1–1.5 mm. wide; petals 3–5, broadly subreniform, 0.6–1 mm. long, 1–1.5 mm. wide, fleshy; synandrium 6–9-locular, 1.2–1.6 mm. in diameter, on a stipe 0.5–1 mm. long. Female inflorescences similar to the male. Female flowers unknown. Drupes subreniform, 4–6 mm. long; exocarp like a thin skin, red when alive; endocarp transversely ribbed and furrowed. Seeds 5–7 mm. long.⁵

Accession #: 201700061

Accession Date: 2017-07-27 00:00:00

Bloom Status: 🪴 Not Flowering

Location: 1108

Quantity: 2

Source: Holly Forbes - UC Botanical Garden

Provenance:

UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley #73.0217 ex Longwood Gardens # 1965-0072.

Meyer, F.G. U.S. National Arboretum s.n.
Gojjam Province, Ethiopia

Edge of Lake Tana, Gojjam Prov. On Ficus. Epiphytic; succulent with pencil-like green stems. Flowers not seen. Was coll as Senecio sp.? & later changed.  Undated det. by Lyman Smith at Longwood.

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: eudicots

Order: Ranunculales

Family: Menispermaceae

SubFamily: Menispermoideae

Tribe: Tiliacoreae