Plants → Apocynaceae → Allamanda
Allamanda cathartica L.
Mant.Pl. 2:214 (1771)
Conservation Status:
Alien
Name Status:
Current
Brief Description
Amanda Spooner,
Tuesday 31 August 1999
Scrambling to scandent shrub or climber, to 3(–6) m high. Fl. yellow, Feb. Red loam sandstone. Along creek. Distribution: N: NK.
Scientific Description
Amanda Spooner, James Carpenter, Gillian Smith and Kim Spence,
Thursday 21 August 2008
Common name(s). Guinea herb; Yellow allamanda.
Habit. Climbing to scrambling shrubs (with white latex), up to 6 m high. Spines present; associated with fruits.
Leaves. Whorled, simple, without stipules, petiolate, petiole 3–5 mm long. Leaf blade to 170 mm long, to 50 mm wide, undissected, elliptic, base tapering, margins entire, apex acuminate. Blade glabrous.
Flowers. Arranged in inflorescences, in cymes (terminal or near to axils (extra-axillary); to 60 mm long; bracteate); predominantly yellow, regular, subsessile, pedicel 5–7 mm long, perianth 2 -whorled. Calyx 8–15(–22) mm long, 5 sepals, all sepals joined (calyx deeply lobed). Corolla 101–110 mm long (with corolline corona; tube to 42 mm long), 5 petals, all petals joined. Stamens 5, adnate to the perianth (inserted on corolla tube), all alternating with the corolla parts, coherent to each other. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits. Ovary syncarpous, superior, 2 -celled. Ovules 2–100 per cell. Styles 1, branched (style head cylindrical, bifid), 2 branches.
Fruit. Dehiscent or schizocarpic, a follicle or of mericarps, non-fleshy, 50–70 mm long (prickly with long soft spines), 40–65 mm wide.
Distribution. Australian: Western Australia, Queensland. Alien to Australia, alien to Western Australia, naturalised. Native: tropical South America.
Habitat. Amongst medium trees (Eucalyptus miniata woodland over weeds); in loam; occupying creeklines; growing in disturbed natural vegetation (on roadsides).
Flowering period. January, February, March, April, May, October, November, December.
Descriptions are sourced from the Weed Information Network project, Western Australian Herbarium.
Descriptions were generated using DELTA data format and DELTA software: Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1995 onwards, 1998).
