Fockea | |
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Potted Fockea edulis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Apocynaceae |
Subfamily: | Asclepiadoideae |
Tribe: | Fockeeae |
Genus: | Fockea Endl. |
Synonyms | |
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Fockea is a genus of succulent scrubs native to Africa south of the equator. They are members of the Asclepiadoideae (milkweeds), a subfamily of the dogbane family Apocynaceae. Of the six recognized species, only the two most widely distributed extend north of southern Africa, with F. multiflora reaching as far north as Tanzania and F. angustifolia reaching to southern Kenya. [1] Fockea are known as water roots, [2] a reference to the bulbous caudex characteristic of most species, which is also edible in at least some species.
The genus Fockea Endl. was established in 1838 by the Austrian botanist Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher through illustration [3] and description [4] of a specimen of Fockea capensis collected in Cape Colony circa 1786 by Franz Boos and Georg Scholl and cultivated at Schönbrunn Garden in Vienna. [1] The genus was named in honor of the German physician and naturalist Gustav Woldemar Focke, author of the commentary De respiratione vegetabilium (Of the respiration of vegetables). [4] The “Old Lady of Schönbrunn” — the oldest potted succulent in captivity — continued to be cultivated at least through 1988, over 200 years after it was first collected by Boos and Scholl. [5] [6] It was believed to be the last surviving member of its species until the South African botanist Rudolf Marloth collected another specimen of F. capensis near Prince Albert in 1906. [1] [7]
Most Fockea species are relatively small climbers with swollen, mostly subterranean tubers, whereas Fockea multiflora , a widely distributed but exclusively tropical species, is a massive, tropical liana without a tuber. [1] [8] It is considered a sister to the other five species. Fockea angustifolia , also widely distributed, is mainly tropical, and sister to the remaining four species, which are endemic to southern Africa. [1]
Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here.
The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, they were treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family.
Melhania is a genus of small shrubs or herbaceous plants. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. The genus is named for Mount Melhan in Yemen.
Bulbine is a genus of plants in the family Asphodelaceae and subfamily Asphodeloideae, named for the bulb-shaped tuber of many species. It was formerly placed in the Liliaceae. It is found chiefly in Southern Africa, with a few species extending into tropical Africa and a few others in Australia and Yemen.
Renealmia is a plant genus in the family Zingiberaceae. Its members are native to tropical Africa and tropical America. In Peru, fruits and tubers are sources of indigenous dyes. and indigenous medical treatments for leishmania and malaria In Colombia, it is used to treat snakebite. Bracts and leaves can serve as phytotelmata, retaining small quantities of water that offer habitat for other organisms.
Wurmbea is a genus of perennial herbs in the family Colchicaceae, native to Africa and Australia. There are about 50 species, with about half endemic to each continent.
Helicteres is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. Its range is from tropical and sub-tropical Asia through to northern Australia, and also Mexico through to the northern half of South America.
AnacampserosL. is a genus comprising about a hundred species of small perennial succulent plants native to Southern Africa, Ethiopia and Latin America. The botanical name Anacampseros is an ancient one for herbs supposed to restore lost love.
Virectaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The genus, known as Virecta until 1952, consists exclusively of tropical African species. It is a Guineo-Congolian genus, having its highest diversity in Lower Guinea but it also occurs in the Zambezian Region. Verdcourt provided a revision in which he defined five species but three more were added later. In 2001, a detailed morphological and anatomical study of the genus was conducted and a taxonomic survey and a key to the species was provided.
Microloma is a small genus of Ceropegia-like twiners and twiggy bushes occurring in mainly arid or fynbos regions in South Africa. They are generally nondescript when not in bloom, but the flowers of most species are incongruously decorative.
Cola is a genus of trees native to the tropical forests of Africa, classified in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae. Species in this genus are sometimes referred to as kola tree or kola nut for the caffeine-containing fruit produced by the trees that is often used as a flavoring ingredient in beverages. The genus was thought to be closely related to the South American genus Theobroma, or cocoa, but the latter is now placed in a different subfamily. They are evergreen trees, growing up to 20 m tall, with glossy ovoid leaves up to 30 cm long and star-shaped fruit.
Baissea is a genus of plant in the family Apocynaceae found in tropical Africa. As of August 2013 the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 18 species:
Motandra is a genus of plant in the family Apocynaceae native to tropical Africa. As of August 2013 the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 3 species:
Oncinotis is a genus of plant in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1849. It is native to Africa, including Madagascar. As of August 2013 the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 7 species:
Pleiocarpa is a genus of plant in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1876. It is native to tropical Africa from Senegal to Tanzania and south to Zimbabwe. As of August 2013 the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 6 species:
Aspidoglossum is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1838. It is native to Africa.
Raphionacme is a plant genus in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1842. The genus is found primarily in Africa, with one species on the Arabian Peninsula.
Fockea multiflora, or python vine, is a plant of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, native to Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, including the Caprivi Strip, and Malawi. It is a large semisucculent liana, growing to some 15m in length and up to 60 cm in diameter, found primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.
Anchusa capensis, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to Namibia, South Africa and Lesotho. The genus Anchusa is from the Greek word anchousa, which makes reference to its use as a dye base for cosmetic paint obtained from the roots of another plant in the genus Anchusa tinctoria. The species capensis translates to ‘from the Cape’ referring to South Africa