C. madagascariensis is a twining woody vine or scandent shrub, 6-8 m in length, with abundant milky latex. Stems are cylindrical, glabrous, reddish brown, with few lenticels. Leaves are opposite;blades 4-10 ? 2-4.7 cm, elliptical, oblong, or ovate, coriaceous, glabrous, the apex short-acuminate, obtuse, or rounded. The margins are entire;venation pinnate, with14-16 pairs of secondary veins;upper surface dull;lower surface pale, with obscure venation;petioles glabrous, 0.6-1.5 cm long;stipules minute, intrapetiolar. Flowers are arranged in pedunculate cymes;bracts foliaceous, lanceolate, approximately 5 mm long. Calyx green, campanulate, the sepals lanceolate, pubescent, 0.5-1.5 cm long;corolla 3-6 cm long, violet, the tube darker inside, the lobes abaxially whitish in the overlapping portion;corona with 5 simple lobes, approximately 1 cm long. Two follicles, divergent, brown when mature, 5.8-13 cm long, woody. Seeds are reddish brown, ovate-lanceolate, 3 mm long, with long, cream colored silky hairs (Acevedo-Rodr’guez, 2005).
Related Farm Practice
- Control
- Hosts
C. madagascariensis is not a weed of agricultural crops. However, in Australia, both C. grandiflora and C. madagascariensis can smother and out-compete both wild and pasture grasses, being a serious problem in pasture lands. These species are an expensive problem for ranchers in Australia who must control these plants which are toxic to cattle and horses (Australian Weeds Committee, 2012).