Tree loops

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The tree loops (Periploca) are a plant genus of the subfamily Periplocoideae belonging to the family Dog Vegetables (Apocynaceae). Two species are also cultivated in Central Europe as ornamental plants.

Description
Tree loops are usually winding or rarely upright, bare shrubs that reach heights of several meters. leaves on the side, stalked or seated are evergreen or fall off during dry seasons; In few species, they are also reduced to scales. The shape of the leaf spread ranges from elliptical to egg-shaped. The length is between about 1.5 to 10 cm, the width 0.2 to 5 cm.

The cymous inflorescences are formed in the leaf armpits and at the ends of the branches. On average, 3 to 15 stemmed flowers sit in loose groups. The twisty, five-fold flowers have a diameter of about 1 to 2.4 cm. The five chalice leaves are free. The five crown leaves are elongated and rounded at the top. They are yellowish-green on the edge with a dark red or brown middle part or even uniformly coloured. The minor crown is dark brown, purple or yellowish. There is a circle with five free stamens with short, wide stamens.

The spindle-shaped, smooth bellows fruits, which are usually arranged in pairs at an obtuse or acute angle to each other (“horn-shaped”), usually grow between 10 and 20 cm long, in extreme cases up to 45 cm. The elongated seeds are sometimes quite large (3 to 14 mm long and 1 to 2.5 mm wide) and have a 20 to 25 mm long hair on the tip.

Dissemination
The genus Periploca occurs in Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, North Africa, Southern Europe and Asia Minor, the Caucasus, the Arabian Peninsula, along the East African Trench from Ethiopia to Malawi and from southern Iran via Pakistan and the Himalayas to the People's Republic of China.

Systematic classification
The first description of the genus by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum was published in 1753. He attributed the name to Joseph Pitton de Tournefort.

There are currently 14-17 Periploca species recognized, which are divided into two sections. In regional floras, some subspecies are upgraded to species. Here is a selection of species:
Sect. Periploca
Periploca angustifolia: It occurs from northern Africa to Mauritania, in southeastern Spain, in Sicily, Crete and earlier also in Syria.
Periploca aphylla : With two subspecies:
Periploca aphylla subsp. aphylla: It occurs from the Sinai Peninsula to the Arabian Peninsula and northwestern India.
Periploca aphylla subsp. laxiflora : It occurs from Sudan to southern Iran.
Periploca calophylla (including Periploca floribunda, Periploca forrestii): The homeland is Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam and China. You can distinguish two varieties.
Periploca gracilis (Syn.: Cyprinia gracilis): It occurs in Cyprus and in southern Turkey.
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