''Strongylodon'' is a genus of

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 in the

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

family,

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It includes 16 species of

liana 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 ...

s native to the western Pacific, from the Philippines and Sulawesi to New Guinea, Queensland, and the south Pacific, and to Madagascar, Réunion, and the Comoro and Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. Typical habitats are tropical rain forest, thicket, or secondary vegetation, often in wetlands and near water. Some species can grow up to 40 meters long. The genus belongs to the subfamily

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is widely ...

. The most well-known species in the genus is ''

Strongylodon macrobotrys ''Strongylodon macrobotrys'', commonly known as the jade vine, emerald vine,''The Royal Horticultural Society A–Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants'', ed. Christopher Brickell, Dorling Kindersley, London, 1996, , p987 or turquoise jade vine, is a l ...

'', also known as jade vine.

Taxonomy

The genus was named by

Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel (30 July 1812 – 17 December 1841) was a German botanist.Biographical sketch by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus, translated by Miles Joseph Berkeley. In Life He was born in Berlin, and studied at the Friedrich-Wilhelm ...

in 1836. The genus name derives from ''strongylos'' "round", and ''odous'' "tooth",, . referring to the rounded teeth of the jade vine's calyx.

Species

16 species are accepted: * '' Strongylodon archboldianus'' * '' Strongylodon caeruleus'' * '' Strongylodon celebicus'' * '' Strongylodon crassifolius'' * '' Strongylodon craveniae'' * '' Strongylodon decipiens'' * '' Strongylodon elmeri'' * '' Strongylodon juangonzalezii'' * '' Strongylodon loheri'' * '' Strongylodon lucidus'' * ''

'' * '' Strongylodon madagascariensis'' * '' Strongylodon pulcher'' * '' Strongylodon ruber'' * '' Strongylodon siderospermus'' * '' Strongylodon zschokkei''

References

External links

About.com Houseplant Guide: Jade Vine—growing Strongylodon inside

lucidcentral.org Phaseoleae Fabaceae genera {{Phaseoleae-stub