4726.000 Cardiospermum L. - Heart-seeds

Description of the genus

Annual or perennial climbing herbs, stems ridged. Stipules small, caducous. Leaves alternate, compound (2-ternate to apparently pinnate). Inflorescence axillary, at the apex of a relatively long peduncle, with a pair of coiled tendrils just below. Flowers zygomorphic. Bracts minute. Sepals 4; lateral small, the other 2 larger. Petals 4. Stamens 8. Ovary 3-locular. Fruit an inflated membranous capsule. Seed black with a white, ovate to reniform (sometimes ± heart-shaped) hilum.

Derivation of name: Cardio: heart, spermum: a seed, referring to the heart-shaped hilum on the seed

Worldwide: 14 spp, mainly tropical America, but with 3 spp. widespread in the tropics.

Botswana: 3 taxa.

Cardiospermum halicacabum var. halicacabum

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
corindum L.NDescription, Image
halicacabum L. var. halicacabum N,SEDescription, Image
halicacabum L. var. microcarpum (Kunth) BlumeNDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Cardiospermum:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: Cardiospermum
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Cardiospermum
Flora of Malawi: Cardiospermum
Flora of Mozambique: Cardiospermum
Flora of Zambia: Cardiospermum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Cardiospermum
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Cardiospermum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Cardiospermum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Cardiospermum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Cardiospermum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Cardiospermum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Cardiospermum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Cardiospermum
JSTOR Plant Science: Cardiospermum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Cardiospermum
Plants of the World Online: Cardiospermum
Tropicos: Cardiospermum
Wikipedia: Cardiospermum

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Botswana: Genus page: Cardiospermum.
https://www.botswanaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=900, retrieved 19 March 2024

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