The population of monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains has experienced a significant decline over the past 20 yr. In order to increase monarch numbers in the breeding range, habitat restoration that includes planting milkweed plants is essential. Milkweeds in the genus Asclepias and Cynanchum are the only host plants for larval monarch butterflies in North America, but larval perform...

In the present investigation vessels of 24 species of the family Apocynaceae have been studied. Lot of variation exist in the size and shape of vessels, number of perforation plates and intervascular thickening of walls in the taxa of Apocynaceae.

Plants produce specialized metabolites for their defence. However, specialist herbivores adapt to these compounds and use them for their own benefit. Plants attacked predominantly by specialists may be under selection to reduce or eliminate production of co-opted chemicals: the defence de-escalation hypothesis. We studied the evolution of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in Apocynaceae, larval hos...

In the present study the bark of Plumeria alba Linn. (Apocynaceae) was evaluated for pharmacognostical and phytochemical parameters and methanolic extract for antimicrobial activity by determining its MIC (by checker board method) and zone of inhibition (by cup plate method).Pharmacognostical parameters of the bark of Plumeria alba Linn. (Apocynaceae) were studied with the aim of drawing the ph...

A new combination in Matelea (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) for an endemic Jamaican vine is proposed.

The stem bark extract of Schizozygia coffaeoides (Apocynaceae) showed moderate antiplasmodial activity (IC50 = 8–12 mg/mL) against the chloroquine-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Chromatographic separation of the extract led to the isolation of a new schizozygane indoline alkaloid, named 3-oxo-14a,15a-epoxyschizozygine. In addition, two dimeric an...

A brief synopsis of the genus Allamanda (Apocynaceae, Rauvolfioideae) in Colombia is presented, including a key, photographs of the species, and a new combination, A. salicifolia.

Anastrepha pseudanomala Norrbom was reared in fruits of Couma utilis (Apocynaceae), and also collected in McPhail traps in Ferreira Gomes county, State of Amapá, Brazil.

Asphondylia hancorniae, sp. n. (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) is described and illustrated. This species was collected in Atlantic Forest Caatinga domains Bahia State (Northeastern Brazil). It induces galls on fruits of Hancornia speciosa Gomes (Apocynaceae), a plant native to Brazil. hancorniae compared other congeneric which induce Apocynaceae.