Mussaenda frondosa

Mussaenda frondosa L., Sp. Pl. 177 1753. (Syn: Gardenia frondosa (L.) Lam.; Mussaenda belilla Buch.-Ham.; Mussaenda dovinia Buch.-Ham.; Mussaenda flavescens Buch.-Ham.; Mussaenda formosa L. [Illegitimate]; Mussaenda fruticosa L.; Mussaenda ingrata Wall. ex Hook.f.; Mussaenda macrophylla Kurz [Illegitimate]; Mussaenda sumatrensis B.Heyne ex Roth; Mussaenda tomentosa Wight ex Hook.f. [Illegitimate]; Mussaenda villosa Schltdl. ex Hook.f. [Illegitimate]);
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Indian Subcontinent to Caroline Islands: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Is., India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam as per POWO;
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help to identify the species of this mussaenda please..:

I think it is Mussaenda frondosa

Same as … thought – Mussaenda frondosa L.

It is Mussaenda bellila.

Now, it is a synonym of M. frondosa, I guess. Please check it with plant list.

Images by Raghu Ananth (Id by Vijayasankar Raman) (Inserted by J.M.Garg) (For more images & complete details, click on the links)

Rubiaceae Week: Hedge turner – Mussaenda from Bhagamandala #AR11:  Hedge-turner!… Beautiful all the way!!

… the velvety leaves and the flower remind me of Mussaenda.

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White leaves | id request 22Mar2010AR01:

These are not leaves. This is the special feature of Mussaenda bellila, wherein the floral bracts are modified, enlarged and brightly white, probably to attract pollinators as the corolla is indistinct naturally. In Malayalam it is known as ‘Vellila’ means ‘white leaf’.

There are many plants in this variety
Poincetia, Musanda even Bogan villia in this catagory.

In Mussaenda, it is the sepals that get modified into coloured leaf like structures and not the bracts.. out of 5 sepals present in it one gets modified into coloured structure either white or red.. this plant is Mussaenda frondosa of the family Rubiaceae..

… have similar looking plant : flickr
Found it at Murudeshwara, South Kanara, Karanataka on 14 May 2007.
Considering it as Mussaenda glabrata … M. glabrata and M. frondosa are perhaps related by synonymy.

Its ofcourse M.frondosa… absolutely no doubt for me… if needed i may post the photos of 2 coloured varieties of the same grown in Western ghats

In M. frontosa the flowers are thick and densely arranged whereas, in M bellila (the old name was M. laxa/M. frontosa var. laxa) the flowers are arranged loose/lax. If you get the specimen, while brushing through the leaves and if you feel rough hairs on the leaves you can be sure of that as M frontosa but if there are small smooth hairs that is M.bellila.
In most of the ecology text books and other introductory books it has been mentioned as M. frondosa only. That had given an impression that there is only one species that is M.frondosa.
Please be more cautious when deal with minute characters. Taxonomy is interesting but it should be taken as a serious subject because it is mostly based on minute characters and need your discretion to reach a valid id.
Do refer a valid flora, I would like to emphasis not e-flora. I say this because we found lots of mistake in many of the e floras that might happened while copying the old literature in to e-format.
Unless you are thorough with the original description. You never find/understand the mistake.
We had this problem all throughout when we were trying to make a key for plants for farmers and layman.
Here the picture is of M.bellila. … was correct. He might have handled several individals of this species from different parts of India as he worked all throughout India and collected specimens from different parts. He he may not go wrong.

Thanks a lot for your response and validation of id. I always say that identification with photograph may not be always 100 % correct. Whatever name we give is just a lead and it needs further literature verification with actual plant specimen/ Herbarium. As you rightly pointed out plant identification needs critical observation with real specimen. 

Mussaenda frondosa L : Attachments (2). 1 post by 1 author.
Mussaenda frondosa L., (= M. belilla B&H), Fam – Rubiaceae,
wild shrub, walparai tea estate area, (anaimalai) Coimbatore dt Tamilnadu

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Pl. see current page at Mussaenda frondosa

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111 ID wild plant: 13 images.

Mussaenda treutleri Stapf

Yes, it is dear …, thank you very much for ID my plant.

I think more closer to images and details at Mussaenda frondosa as per images and details herein and as per FoPI rather than Mussaenda treutleri as per images and details herein and as per FoPI.  

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Rubiaceae Week : Mussanda glabrata Amboli.:
Mussanda glabrata
Amboli.

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This may be Mussaenda frondosa as per discussions and keys at Amboli, MH :: Mussaenda for ID :: ARK2021-110

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Rubiaceae Week :: Mussaenda glabrata at Prabalgad:
Sharing photographs of a large climbing Shrub, ” Mussaenda glabrata” from Prabalgad (Maharashtra).

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This may be Mussaenda frondosa as per discussions and keys at Amboli, MH :: Mussaenda for ID :: ARK2021-110

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Rubiaceae Week :: Mussaenda glabrata in Belgaum and Murudeshwar:
Mussaenda glabrata (Hook.f.) Hutch. ex Gamble

mew-say-EN-duh — Latinized form of Sinhalese vernacular name mussenda
GLAB-rah-tuh — somewhat smooth

May 14, 2007 … at Murudeshwar, Karnataka
commonly known as: mussaenda • Bengali: sada patta • Hindi: bedina • Konkani: मिठाइ फुल mithai phool • Manipuri: hanu-rei • Sinhalese: mussenda • Tamil: வெள்ளையிலை vellaiyilai
Native to: tropical Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands
References: Flowers of India • Wikipedia • Len Webb Ecological Images Collection
more views: May 14, 2007 … at Murudeshwar, Karnataka
May 29, 2011 … off SH 34 near Kumbharwadi, Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka 

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Hedge-turner!… Beautiful all the way!!
I always like the contrasts it makes. Here it is white large bracts & the little red flower

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Putting now the pronunciation and meaning of glabrata:
GLAB-rah-tuh — somewhat smooth
I refer Dave’s Botanary for finding pronunciation and meaning of the binomials.
Other good references are found at Calflora:
• calflora.net/botanicalnames/
• calflora
• calflora.net/southafrica/

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This may be Mussaenda frondosa as per discussions and keys at Amboli, MH :: Mussaenda for ID :: ARK2021-110

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In my plant the inflorescence looks clearly hairy, thus revising it to Mussaenda frondosa, shortly.

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along KSH 34 between Ramnagar & Malamba :: Mussaenda glabrata :: DVFEB42/75 : 1 post by 1 author. 2 images.
along Karnataka State Highway No. 34 … between Ramnagar & Malamba
Date: 29 MAY 2011 … Altitude: about 640 m asl
Mussaenda glabrata (Hook.f.) Hutch. ex Gamble … (family: Rubiaceae)

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This may be Mussaenda frondosa as per discussions and keys at Amboli, MH :: Mussaenda for ID :: ARK2021-110

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Flower for Id – ID21082017SH1 : 5 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (2)

Flower for Id pl.
Location – Near Guhagar (Konkan, Maharashtra)
Date – 03.08.2017

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Mussaenda species. Pl. check comparative images at efi site at genus page. 

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Ok Sir

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Pl. Check comparative images at /species/m—z/r/rubiaceae/mussaenda

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I think close to images at /species/m—z/r/rubiaceae/mussaenda/mussaenda-glabrata

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This may be Mussaenda frondosa as per discussions and keys at Amboli, MH :: Mussaenda for ID :: ARK2021-110.

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Photo needed: Mussaenda frondosa:
To accompany a “Tree Tidbit” item on the SeasonWatch website
(www.seasonwatch.in), we are looking for a photo of Mussaenda frondosa, showing both flower and bract in the same frame. The subject of the tidbit is “bracts”.

Since research has shown that the white bracts in this species attract long-distance pollinators, we thought that this is a good species to use as an illustration of the use of brightly coloured bracts.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/a2ym6ex62guh79j0/

If anyone has such a photo and is willing to allow it to be shown on the SeasonWatch site, could you please email us at the address below?

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Here a few pictures at eFI website:
/species/m—z/r/rubiaceae…
You may seek permission of the poster.

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We had found a photo then, and had put up a short post on bracts under Tree Tidbits in SeasonWatch:
http://www.seasonwatch.in/tidbits.php

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