Plant: perennial vine, pubescent, non-glandular twining vines from a woody base, the hairs of the stems curving downward; milky sap

Leaves: ovate- to lanceolate-triangular, subcordate to hastate-sagittate at the base, 0.5-2 cm long, pubescent on both surfaces or the hairs restricted to the veins below; petioles to 1 cm long, shorter than the blades

INFLORESCENCE: umbelliform or the flowers appearing solitary, the peduncles indistinct to 1-2 mm long

Flowers: ca. 4-5 mm long; calyx lobes 2-3 mm long, equalling or a bit longer than the corolla tube; corolla greenish to purple, sparsely pubescent to glabrate outside, pilose toward the base of the lobes inside, hemispherical, the tube 1-2 mm long, the lobes triangular-ovate, erect, ca. 3 mm long; crown arising from the corolla tube, cup-shaped, undulate-spreading, ca. 0.5 mm long, highest opposite the anthers where it about equals the column, the inner surface with 5 spoke-like ridges united to the column and dividing the cup into 5 pouches opposite the corpuscula; gynostegium elevated, the column ca. 1 mm high, the anther head disk-shaped, the anther wings ca. 0.2 mm long; corpusculum 0.2 mm long, the pollinia horizontal from the translator arms, oblong-quadrate, 0.3-0.4 mm long; stigma head apically flat

Fruit: FOLLICLES 6-9 cm long, glabrate, sparsely warty

Misc: Desert scrub, mts. and canyons; 450-1350 m (1500-4500 ft); Oct-Jun

REFERENCES: Sundell, Eric. 1994. Asclepiadaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27, 169-187. Kearney & Peebles. Arizona Flora. J.C. Hickman, ed. The Jepson Manual. W.B. McDougall. Seed plants of Northern Arizona.ASU specimens.

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Shrub

General: Twining vine from a woody rootstock, pubescent, non-glandular, hairs of the stem curving downward.

Leaves: Ovate to lanceolate-triangular, subcordate to hastate-sagittate at the base, 0.5-2 cm long, pubescent on both surfaces or the hairs restricted to the veins below, petioles to 1 cm long, shorter than blades.

Flowers: Umbelliform or appearing solitary, peduncles indistinct or 1-2 mm long; flowers 4-5 mm long; calyx lobes 2-3 mm long, equalling or longer than corolla tube; corolla greenish to purple, sparsely pubescent to glabrate outside, pilose toward base of lobes inside, hemispherical, tube 1-2 mm long, lobes triangular-ovate, erect, about 3 mm long; crown arising from corolla tube, cup-shaped.

Fruits: Follicles 6-9 cm long, glabrate, sparsely warty.

Ecology: Found in desert scrub, on slopes and in canyons from 1,500-4,500 ft (457-1372 m); flowers October-June.

Distribution: CA and NV, east to TX; south to n MEX

Notes: Similar to Matelea producta but with smaller leaves, less than 2 cm long (up to 5 cm in M. producta); solitary flowers (M. producta has flowers in umbels); and warty follicles (smooth follicles in M. producta).

Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genus have uses.

Etymology: Matelea is thought to be named for the French botanist Jean Baptiste Cristophore Fusee Aublet (1720-1778), while parvifolia comes from the Greek parvus, small and folia for leaf.

Synonyms: Gonolobus californicus, G. parvifolius

Editor: SBuckley, 2010