Taxonomy of Vincetoxicum s.str. (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) from southern Asia including three new species and resurrected names
Shah SA, Sultan A, Wen J and others. PhytoKeys, June 2021.
Read the paper Free to read · doi:10.3897/phytokeys.179.62514
What this paper is about
A revision of Vincetoxicum, a milkweed relative, across southern Asia, based on herbarium material and fieldwork. Eleven regional endemics are recognised.
Three species are described as new, from Pakistan, India, and Pakistan with Kashmir and Tibet, and three names previously sunk as synonyms are restored.
Summarised here from the abstract below. Not the authors’ words.
Abstract
This paper presents a taxonomic study of genus Vincetoxicum s.str. from southern Asia. Eleven regional endemic species are recognized on the basis of herbarium studies and fieldwork. Three new species are described: V. lenifolium sp. nov. (endemic to Pakistan), V. stewartianum sp. nov. (endemic to India), and V. subcanescens sp. nov. (endemic to Pakistan, Kashmir and Tibet). Three species names, V. cabulicum, V. glaucum and V. kenouriense, previously treated as synonyms of V. glaucum, V. canescens and V. hirundinaria, respectively, are resurrected. A neotype is designated for the Afghani endemic V. cabulicum. A lectotype is chosen from the syntypes of V. glaucum. We resolve the long-standing taxonomic problems in three species complexes: V. arnottianum, V. luridum, V. sakesarense, and V. stocksii; V. glaucum, V. canescens and V. cabulicum; and V. hirundinaria and V. kenouriense. Geo-taxonomic distinctions of southern Asian taxa are highlighted by excluding from henceforth the long misrecognized western Eurasian taxa V. canescens and V. hirundinaria. Furthermore, a detailed account of the genus including illustrations of whole plants, leaves and corona, distribution maps, a taxonomic key, morphological descriptions, synonymy, notes, and information on phenology, distribution and habitats is provided. Finally, provisional conservation assessments are provided, which indicate that V. cardiostephanum and V. sakesarense are critically endangered.
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Milkweed USA. (2026). Taxonomy of Vincetoxicum s.str. (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) from southern Asia including three new species and resurrected names (listing). Retrieved DATE, from https://milkweedusa.com/research/taxonomy-of-vincetoxicum-s-str-asclepiadoideae-apocynaceae-from-southern-2021/
"Taxonomy of Vincetoxicum s.str. (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) from southern Asia including three new species and resurrected names (listing)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/research/taxonomy-of-vincetoxicum-s-str-asclepiadoideae-apocynaceae-from-southern-2021/. Accessed DATE.
Milkweed USA. "Taxonomy of Vincetoxicum s.str. (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) from southern Asia including three new species and resurrected names (listing)." Last modified 2026-08-01. Accessed DATE. https://milkweedusa.com/research/taxonomy-of-vincetoxicum-s-str-asclepiadoideae-apocynaceae-from-southern-2021/.
@misc{milkweedusa_researchtaxonomyofvincetoxic,
title = {Taxonomy of Vincetoxicum s.str. (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) from southern Asia including three new species and resurrected names (listing)},
author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://milkweedusa.com/research/taxonomy-of-vincetoxicum-s-str-asclepiadoideae-apocynaceae-from-southern-2021/},
note = {Accessed DATE}
}