About Stephanotis volubilis (L.fil.) S.Reuss, Liede & Meve
Stephanotis volubilis (L.fil.) S.Reuss, Liede & Meve is a stout, tall climbing plant. Its branches are often pustular. Its leaves measure 3–6 inches long by 2–4 inches wide, are somewhat leathery in texture, and have a rounded or cordate base; the leaves have 4–6 pairs of nerves, and petioles that are 1–3 inches long. The peduncles are 1–3 inches long and rather slender, bearing very many-flowered, drooping, subglobose umbels; the individual pedicels are 1/2 inch long and slender. The corolla is 1/2 inch in diameter, cup-shaped, with triangular lobes. The stigma is dome-shaped. The follicles are 3/4 inch long by 1 to 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter, broadly lanceolate, turgid, and glabrous. The seeds are 2 inches long, broadly ovate, pale-colored, smooth and shining, with a thick border. This species has a very wide distribution across south China and tropical Asia. It occurs throughout the Indian subcontinent, including the Assam region, Bangladesh, the east and west Himalayas, the rest of India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is also found in southeast and south-central China and Taiwan; throughout Indochina, including the Andaman Islands, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Nicobar Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam; and in parts of Malesia, including Java, Malaya, and the Philippines. Within India, the plant ranges from Northwest India to Bengal, Assam, and the Deccan Peninsula, extending southwards from the Konkan. In Sri Lanka, it grows in the hotter parts of the island.
