Rubiaceae Week: Musseanda philippica 'Queen Sirikit' from Khalsa College, Delhi.

[Gurcharan Singh]

Musseanda philippica aurorae 'Queen Sirikit' from Khalsa College, Delhi. 

Shrubs often growing 5 m or more tall, with elliptic-ovate leaves up to 15 cm long, slightly hairy beneath; flowers sulphur yellow with 15-22 mm long tube, with rounded ovate enlarged sepal up to 7 cm long, nearly as broad.

   This particular cultivar has enlarged sepals and bracts are pink coloured in this cultivar.

Photographed from Khalsa College, Delhi  

There is confusion on whether this particular cultivar belongs to M. philippica or M. erythrophylla, and sometimes simply listed as Mussaenda 'Queen Sirikit'. However, the two species are quite distinct in corolla, it being yellow in M. philippica and white to creamy white with red centre in M. erythrophylla. The following key should help in separating cultivated members of Rubuaceae.

http://homepage.univie.ac.at/christian.puff/FTH-RUB/FTH-RUB_CULTIVATED_compl_WEB.htm

--
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/

[Gurcharan Singh]

Perhaps more than flower colour which can vary the more important difference is

M. philippica: all flowers in the inflorescence with enlarged calyx lobes

M. erythrophylla: only few flowers in inflorescence with enlarged calyx lobes

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Balkar Singh]

Thanks for the clarifying the difference Sir

--
Regards

Dr Balkar Singh
Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology
Arya P G College, Panipat
Haryana-132103
09416262964

[Dinesh Valke]

Many many thanks Gurcharan ji for upload and for the key difference among the two most popular garden Mussaenda.

Perhaps entry of the word aurorae in the initial post ... Musseanda philippica aurorae 'Queen Sirikit' is inadvertent.
It would be: Musseanda philippica 'Queen Sirikit'
Please correct me if wrong.

Regards.
Dinesh

[Gurcharan Singh]

Yes Dinesh ji 

aurorae was inadvertent error

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Prashant Awale]

Thanks Gurcharan Singh ji for the info.
Regards
Prashant