Gomphocarpus glaucophyllus

Abstract

The genus Gomphocarpus R.Br. is a relative small genus from the Apocynaceae (sub - family Asclepiadoideae) that is naturally found in mostly arid parts of eastern and southern Africa, extending into the Arabian peninsula, Sinai and north to the Dead Sea (Victor et al. 2000; Goyder & Nicholas 2001). Due to its robust habit and (in many cases) extensive populations commonly found in disturbed roadside habitats, Gomphocarpus is one of the more distinct elements of the Asclepias L. complex in Africa, together with Pachycarpus E.Mey. and some Xysmalobium R.Br. species. Some species, like Gomphocarpus fruticosus (L.) Aiton f. and G . physocarpus E.Mey., have become weedy (Forster 1994), but some are considered to be useful plants (Hutchings et al. 1996; Sobrina et al. 2002; El-Seedi et al. 2013; Hassan-Abdallah et al. 2013; Youssef 2013) in many parts of the world. Surprisingly, only one Gomphocarpus species (then as Asclepias fruticosa L.) has thus far been covered in this series (Phillips 1926)