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Clerodendrum splendens G. Don of family Verbenaceae: An addition to the flora

of Pakistan

Research · April 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4135.7205

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BIOLOGIA (PAKISTAN) 2010, 56 (1&2), 129-131
PK ISSN 0006 – 3096

Clerodendrum splendens G. Don., of Family Verbenaceae:

An addition to the flora of Pakistan
ZAHEER-UD-DIN KHAN & MUHAMMAD AJAIB

Department of Botany, GC University Lahore, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

In the Botanic Garden GC University, Lahore, as well as in parks and gardens

throughout Punjab Province a woody climber introduced long ago was as Clerodendrum
splendens G. Don (Bleeding Heart Vine) of family Verbenaceae. The plant voucher
specimen was preserved in Dr. Sultan Ahmad Herbarium, GCU Lahore, Pakistan for
reference. This climber has not been reported in Flora of Pakistan, therefore the present
report is an addition into it.

Key words: Clerodendrum splendens, Flora of Pakistan, Bleeding Heart Vine

INTRODUCTION

The genus Clerodendrum of family Verbenaceae was first described by

Linnaeus during 1953 in Genera Plantarum (Jafri & Ghafoor 1974).
Clerodendrum splendens G. Don is the native to Western Africa and is widely
distributed in west and central Africa from Senegal to Angola and Dem. Rep.
Congo. It is cultivated as an ornamental climber elsewhere in tropics and sub-
tropics and recorded as naturalized in Dem. Rep. Congo and Angola (Fernandes
2005).
Clerodendrum splendens G. Don commonly called Bleeding Heart Vine,
Flaming Glorybower, Pagoda Flower) is found growing well in Lahore, the Capital
of Punjab and the popular city of Pakistan, situated along the left bank of river
Ravi and is greatly expanding due to profuse urbanization, high population
growth rate and emigration.
Climatically Lahore falls in subtropical arid type in which summers are
really hot and the winters are mild cold (Anonymous, 2009).
Clerodendrum splendens G. Don was introduced as an ornamental
climber in Pakistan and it adapted well in this climate. This species has not been
reported by Parker (1956), Chaudhary (1969), Stewart (1972) and Jafri &
Ghafoor (1974) in Flora of Pakistan.
Description to the species after Fernandes (2005):
Clerodendrum splendens G. Don in Edinburgh New Philos. J. 11: 349 (1824). —
J.G. Baker in F.T.A. 5: 300 & 517 (1900). —R. Good in J. Bot. 68, Suppl. 2
(Gamopet.): 141 (1930). —Hutchinson & Dalziel, F.W.T.A. 2: 275 (1931). —
Thomas in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 68: 56 (1936). —Huber in F.W.T.A., ed. 2, 2: 444
(1963). —H. Moldenke & A. Moldenke in Rev. Fl. Ceylon 4: 435 (1983). —
Verdcourt in F.T.E.A., Verbenaceae: 87 (1992). —R. Fernandes in C.F.A.,
Verbenaceae. Type from Sierra Leone.
130 Z. KHAN & M. AJAIB BIOLOGIA (PAKISTAN)

An evergreen densely branched climber or sarmentose vine or running

shrub up to 5m high with minutely puberulous branchlets; main branches long
and flexuose. Leaves upto 18cm long and 12 cm broad, ovate-oblong to broadly
ovate to suborbicular or lanceolate, slightly acuminate, usually rounded at the
base, entire with undulate margins, glabrous, glacous, dark green above and
paler or greyish-green below, nerves prominent; petiole upto 2.7 cm long.
Flowers scarlet in many-flowered, axillary and terminal corymbose cymes;
peduncles stout, upto 9 cm long; pedicels 0.3–1.3cm long; Calyx, sepal lobed,
less than 1cm long, purplish; corolla tube upto 2cm long, ; stamens exerted upto
3cm; drupes, ovoid, black when mature, glabrous, 1.5 cm long (Pl. 1).
Syn.: Clerodendrum aurantium G. Don, C. botryodes, C. gilettii De Wild. & T.
Durand C. splendens var. gilettii (De Wild. & T. Durand) B. Thomas, Sphinanthus
splendens (G. Don) Hiern.
Vern. Bleeding Heart Vine, Flaming Glorybower, Pagoda Flower. Fl.Per.
Feb.-April. Voucher No. SAH. 780.
Ethnobotany: According to Jiofack et al. (2009) the plant is used to treat yellow
fever and panacea of witchcraft.

Plate 1: Clerodendrum splendens G. Don in natural habitat

REFERENCES

Anonymous, 2009. Annual rainfall, relative humidity and temperature of Lahore

2004-2009. Pakistan Metrological Department Jail Road Lahore,
Pakistan.
Vol. 56 (1&2) Clerodendrum splendens G. Don 131

Chaudhary, S.A., 1969. Flora in Layallpur and adjacent Canal Colony. W. Pak.
Agricultural University Lyallpur.
Fernandes, R., 2005. Flora Zambesiaca. Lamiaceae. Vol. 8, part 7.
Jafri, S.M.H. & Ghafoor, A., 1974. Flora of West Pakista. No. 77. Verbenaceae.
E. Nasir and S.I.Ali (eds.) Department of Botany, University of Karachi,
Karachi.
Jiofack, T., Ayissi, I., Fokunang, C., Guedje, N., & Kemeuze, V., 2009.
Ethnobotany and Phytomedicine of the upper Nyong Valley Forest in
Cameroon. African J. Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 3(4). 144-150.
Parker, R.N., 1956. A Forest Flora for the Punjab with Hazara and Delhi, Ed. 3.
Superintendent, Govt. printing press Lahore.
Stewart, R.R., 1972. An Annotated Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of West
Pakistan and Kashmir. Flora of West Pakistan E. Nasir and S.I. Ali,
(eds.) Fakhri Printing Press, Karachi.
 132 BIOLOGIA (PAKISTAN)

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