Allamanda cathartica L.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 51: 1-483.

  • Family

    Apocynaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Allamanda cathartica L.

  • Description

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    Description - Shrub or woody vine, clambering or sometimes twining, much branched, 2-8 m in length, with abundant milky latex. Stems grayish, cylindrical, glabrous or puberulous. Leaves in whorls of 3 or 4; blades 8-13 x 1.5-3.5 cm., oblong, elliptical or oblanceolate, coriaceous, the apex acuminate, the base acute, the margins undulate and revolute; upper surface glabrous, dark green, shiny, with a prominent midvein; lower surface. yellowish green, with the midvein thickened, prominent, and puberulous; petioles 5-10 mm long; stipules transformed into 4 small intrapetiolar glands. Flowers in axillary cymes, few-flowered. Calyx greenish, of 5 lanceolate sepals, 12-18 mm long; corolla infundibuliform, yellow, the tube 7-9 cm long, the limb ca. 8 cm in diameter, with five rounded, revolute lobes. Capsules ellipsoid, with numerous spines on the outside, infrequent; seeds numerous, oval, compressed, 1.2-1.5 cm long, with a discolorous, wing-like margin.

    Phenology - Flowering throughout the year and fruiting from April to May.

    Conservation Status - Exotic, naturalized in Puerto Rico.

  • Discussion

    Cultivated species: Allamanda blanchetii DC, with a purple corolla, is often cultivated in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but apparently it has not become naturalized.