Ventilago

Ventilago
Ventilago viminalis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Tribe: Ventilagineae
Genus: Ventilago
Gaertn.
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Apteron Kurz
  • Enrila Blanco
  • Kurzinda Kuntze
Ventilago denticulata

Ventilago is a genus of plants in the family Rhamnaceae. It includes about 40 species found in the tropics of South and SE Asia, Australasia, with one species each in Africa and Madagascar.

Plants in this genus are evergreen vines, scandent shrubs, or (rarely) small trees. Inflorescences emerge from the leaf axils and may consist of solitary flowers or glomerules. Petals are absent in some species, e.g. Ventilago ecorollata. The fruit is a single-seeded samara with a wing attached at the apex.

The roots of Ventilago vanuatuana—included in Ventilago neocaledonica before 2020—are used in Vanuatu to produce a crimson red dye (Apma: laba) which is used to pattern traditional textiles.

Species

As of December 2025, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 40 species:

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ventilago Gaertn". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 Medan, D.; Schirarend, C. (2004). "Rhamnaceae". In Kubitzki, K. (ed.). The Families and Genera of Flowering Plants: Volume VI. Berlin: Springer. p. 334. ISBN 978-3-642-05714-4.
  3. ↑ Bourdy, Geneviève; Walter, Annie (December 1986). "Notes sur quelques plantes tinctoriales de Vanuatu" [Notes on some tinctoral plants of Vanuatu] (PDF). Naïka (in French). 24. Vanuatu Natural Science Society. IRD Identifier: fdi:010013960. (The linked PDF contains the 1986 French original and the 1987 English translation. The two versions appear to share an IRD identifier.)
    Bourdy, Geneviève; Walter, Annie (September 1987). "Notes on some tinctoral plants of Vanuatu" (PDF). Naïka. 25. Vanuatu Natural Science Society. IRD Identifier: fdi:010013960.
  4. ↑ Cahen, Daniel; Toussirot, Marine; Pillon, Yohan (2020). "A revision of Ventilago (Rhamnaceae) in New Caledonia and Vanuatu with notes on dyeing properties". Willdenowia. 50 (2). Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin. doi:10.3372/wi.50.50211. eISSN 1868-6397. ISSN 0511-9618.