Abstract
The Afro-Asiatic genus Brachystelma Sims (Apocynaceae Ceropegieae;, see Bruyns & Forster 1991; Swarupanandan et al. 1996; Endress & Bruyns 2000) contains approximately 130 species (rather than the 100 or so species generally quoted (Dyer 1980, 1983)), with perhaps as many as seventeen in India. The genus has never been revised over its entire geographic range, but two checklists (Walker 1982; Boele et al. 1987) list 110 and 111 species respectively and a further 20 species have been described since. The most comprehensive regional treatment is for the Flora of Southern Africa (Dyer 1980, 1983), the region with the highest concentration of species (69). Smaller regional accounts or checklists have been compiled for other countries Botswana, Malawi and Lesotho (Hargreaves 1999); Zimbabwe (PercyLancaster 1988; Boele 1989); East Africa (Newton 1996); West tropical Africa (Meve & Porembski 1993); Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia (Forster 1988, 1990) but India still awaits a synthetic account. Generic delimitation has been, and remains, controversial. Dyer (1980, 1983) included 10 genera in synonymy under Brachystelma including the superficially distinctive Dichaelia with its lantern-like flowers. Peckover (1996) proposed the inclusion of Tenaris and Macropetalum, arguing that the characters used to define these genera are inconsistent, but this has been disputed by Victor & Nicholas (1998). But the problem goes wider still in the absence of reliable coronal characters, keys to distinguish Brachystelma from Ceropegia and Riocreuxia resort to the length of the corolla tube, and there is occasional reassortment of atypical species most recently B. nepalense was transferred into Brachystelma from Riocreuxia (Meve 1997). Gilbert (in press), commenting on the problem for taxa treated in the forthcoming Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea, states: 'The distinction [of Brachystelma] from Ceropegia is difficult as there are no characters that give a clear division.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
