Tabernaemontana
(named in honour of James Theodore Tabernaemontanus, of Heidelberg, a celebrated physician and botanist, who died in 1590). SYNS. Pandaca, Reichardia (of Dennstaedt). Including Conopharyngia. ORD. Apocynaceae. A genus comprising about 110 species of stove, evergreen, often glabrous trees or shrubs, broadly dispersed over tropical regions. Flowers white or yellowish; calyx usually small, five-lobed or five parted; corolla salver-shaped, the throat not scaly, the lobes contorted; anthers sagittate, very acute; cymes scarcely branched. Berries or follicles two, globose, oblong, ovoid, or recurved-reniform, smooth or three ribbed. Leaves opposite, slender or coriaceous, penniveined. The species, a select few of which are here described, are interesting plants. T. utilis (a species probably not in cultivation), when tapped, yields a copious supply of thick, sweet milk, resembling that of the cow in appearance, but in substance rather sticky owing to the presence of caoutchouc. A mixture of loam, sand, and peat, is the most suitable soil for Tabernaemontanas. Young plants are obtainable by means of cuttings, inserted in sand, under a glass, in moist heat. Except where otherwise indicated, all the under-mentioned species are shrubs, having white flowers.
T. Amsonia (Amsonia). A synonym of Amsonia Tabernaemontana.
T. amygdalifolia (Almond-leaved). fl. highly odorous; corolla segments obovate, undulated nearly equal to the tube; cymes dichotomous, one-third to half the length of the leaves. July. l. oval-lanceolate or obovate-oblong, acute at both ends, 2in. to 5in. long, shining; petioles 1/4in. to 1/2in. long. h. 6ft. South America, 1780. (B.R. 338.) T. Barteri (Barter's).* fl. 1in. long; corolla tube slightly dilated at base and apex, the segments oblong-obovate, obtuse, rather shorter than the tube; peduncles dichotomously branched, few-flowered, shorter than the leaves. Summer. l. oblong, attenuated at both ends, the upper ones 2in. to 3in. long, in unequal whorls; petioles dilated and slightly connate at base. Branches pale. h. 6ft. Western tropical Africa, 1870. (B. M. 5859.)
T. coronaria (crowned).* Adam's Apple; East Indian Rose Bay. fl. odorous at night; corolla tube 3/4in. long, the segments oblong, obtuse, rather longer than the tube; peduncles in pairs from the forks of the branches, erect, dichotomous, four to six-flowered. July. l. opposite, unequal, elliptic-oblong, acute at base, obtuse and acuminate at apex, 3in. to 4in. long, membranous. Branches dichotomous. h. 4ft. Native country unknown; cultivated throughout India. 1770. (B. R. 1064; L. B. C. 406.) There is a double-flowered form, flore-pleno. (B. M. 1865, under name of Nerium coronarium.)
T. densiflora (dense-flowered). A synonym of Rauwolfia densiflora.
T. dichotoma (dichotomous). fl. slightly odorous, 1in. long; corolla segments slightly exceeding the tube; cymes terminal, dichotomously branched, many-flowered, nearly equalling the leaves; peduncles naked, 3in. to 6in. long. September. l. oblong, acute at base, obtuse at apex, 2 1/2in. to 5in. long; petioles six to ten lines long, embraced by the sheath-like stipules. Branches terete. h. 6ft. India, 1840. (B. R. 1841, 53.) SYN. Cerbera dichotoma (L. B. C. 1516).
T. grandiflora (large-flowered). fl. yellow, inodorous; calyx lobes 2/3in. long, leafy, gland-bearing towards the base; corolla tube fourteen lines long, the lobes obovate, very obtuse, shorter; peduncles terminal, twice-forked, few-flowered. Summer. l. oval or elliptic-obovate, acute at base, long and acutely cuspidate at apex, 2in. to 4in. long, one in each pair smaller, glabrous. Branchlets dichotomous. h. 6ft. British Guiana and Venezuela, 1823. (B. M. 5226.) T. gratissima (very sweet-scented). A synonym of T. recurva.
T. laurifolia (Laurel-leaved). fl. yellow; corolla lobes linear oblong, shorter than the tube; cymes contracted; peduncle about as long as the petioles. May. l. oval or oval-oblong, 4in. to 8in. long, blunt at both ends. h. 10ft. West Indies, 1768. Stove shrub. (B. R. 716)
T. longiflora (long-flowered). fl., corolla tube very long, slightly swollen below the middle; peduncles lax, about three-flowered. Summer. l. oblong-elliptic, abruptly acuminate, acute at base; petioles dilated at base. Sierra Leone, 1849. Tree. (B. M. 4484; F. d. S. 534.)
T. longifolia (long-leaved). fl. 2/3in. long; corolla lobes obovate-oblong, reflexed, equalling the tube; cymes axillary, dichotomous, many-flowered, much shorter than the leaves; peduncles thick. July. l. sub-sessile, oblong, acuminate, long-narrowed at base, 6in. to 10in. long, 1 1/2in. to 2 1/2in. broad, membranous. h. 6ft. British Guiana, 1849.
T. recurva (recurved). fl. fragrant; corolla tube glabrous, the throat fleshy, the segments eight to nine lines long, obtuse; cymes twin in the forks of the branches, spreading, recurved, much shorter than the leaves, many-flowered. June. l. broadly lanceolate, acute at base, obtuse and acuminate at apex, 4in. long; petioles four to six lines long. Branches terete. h. 6ft. Chittagong and Tenasserim, 1824. SYN. T. gratissima (B. R. 1084).
T. Wallichiana (Wallich's). fl. on pedicels twice as long as the calyx; corolla tube four to five lines long, the lobes narrow, falcate, rather obtuse; peduncles twin in the forks of the branches, spreading-recurved, dichotomous, three to five-flowered. Summer. l. broadly lanceolate, very shortly narrowed into the petioles, obtuse and acuminate at apex, 3in. to 4in. long; petioles very short, channelled. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Sumatra, 1873.