''Stephanotis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s first described in 1806. The name derives from the Greek στεφανωτής (''stephanōtís'') meaning, by sense, “fit for a crown”—from στέφανος (''stéphanos''), “crown”. It contains

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, woody-stemmed

lianas A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

with a scattered distribution in several tropical and subtropical regions. ''Stephanotis'' are grown for their strongly perfumed, waxy, tubular, usually white flowers. Leaves are opposite, ovate to elliptic, and leathery. ''Stephanotis'' is a beautiful but difficult plant - it hates sudden changes in temperature, needs constant cool conditions in winter and is attractive to scale and mealy bug. The stems of ''Stephanotis'' can reach 10 ft or more, but it is usually sold twined around a wire hoop. The heavily scented waxy flowers appear in summer. The best known species is ''

Stephanotis floribunda ''Stephanotis floribunda'' syn. ''S. jasminoides'', the Madagascar jasmine, waxflower, Hawaiian wedding flower, or bridal wreath is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Madagascar. It is a twining, sparsely branched ...

'' (Madagascar jasmine), which is cultivated as a tropical or hothouse ornamental, and whose flowers are a popular element in wedding bouquets. The ''Stephanotis'' has grown in popularity over the past few years along with some of the other spring flowering vines. It is known by a few different names such as "Madagascar jasmine" and "bridal veil".

Species

15 species are accepted. ;formerly included transferred to other genera ''(

Jasminanthes ''Jasminanthes'' is a plant genus in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1850. It is native to China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. ;Species # ''Jasminanthes chunii'' (Tsiang) W.D. Stevens & P.T. Li - Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan # ...

Marsdenia ''Marsdenia'' is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1810. It is named in honor of the plant collector and Secretary of the Admiralty, William Marsden (orientalist), William Marsden. The plants are native to ...

)''

References

Apocynaceae genera Asclepiadoideae Taxa named by Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars Paleotropical flora {{Apocynaceae-stub

Species

See also

References