Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

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Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
ovary superior, oblong, glabrous, with 2 locules.
Fruit a linear capsule, coriaceous, with valves
perpendicular to the septum; seeds numerous, flat,
with 2 hyaline-membranaceous wings. A genus
of 2 species of tropical eastern and southern
Africa.
1. Tecomaria capensis (Thunb.) Spach, Hist. Nat.
Veg. Phan. 9: 137. 1840.
Fig. 48. A-C
BASIONYM: Bignonia capensis Thunb.
SYNONYM: Tecoma capensis (Thunb.) Lindl.
Clambering or semi-erect shrub, 3-4 m in
length. Stems cylindrical, lenticellate, puberulous;
cross section of the mature stem with peripheral
phloem not forming a cross. Leaves opposite,
imparipinnate, 7-11-foliolate, without tendrils;
leaflets 1.5-4.2 × 1-3 cm, elliptical to subrounded,
membranaceous, sessile, puberulent, the apex
rounded, the base rounded or abruptly cuneate,
the margins serrate; upper surface dull, pale, with
12. TYNANTHUS
slightly prominent venation; lower surface light
green, dull, punctate, with slightly prominent
venation, forming a conspicuous network, with
tufts of hairs in the axils; petioles 1.5-2.5 cm long;
pseudostipules absent. Flowers numerous, in
axillary racemes; pedicel 6-10 mm long. Calyx
green, crateriform, 5-7 mm long, 5-dentate,
ciliate, puberulent; corolla orange or reddish
orange, tubular, curved, 3.5-5 cm long, with 5
oblong, unequal lobes, the 2 upper lobes smaller
than the 3 lower; stamens 4, of equal length,
exserted; ovary superior, oblong, glabrous, with
a crateriform disc at the base. Capsule linear, 5-
11 cm long and 7-8 mm wide; seeds in 2 rows,
slender, 2-winged, the wings hyalinemembranaceous.
Phenology: Collected in flower in February
and March.
Status: Exotic, cultivated, uncommon.
Distribution: Cultivated in gardens along the
Cordillera Central, also on St. Croix and St.
Thomas. Native to South Africa, but widely
cultivated throughout the tropics.
Small trees or lianas with tendrils. Stems cylindrical or occasionally quadrangular, interpetiolar
zone not glandular; pseudostipules absent or foliaceous but early deciduous; cross section of the mature
stem with a cross of 4 arms formed by the phloem tissue. Leaves opposite, 2- or 3-foliolate, the terminal
leaflet usually replaced by a terminal, simple or trifid tendril. Flowers numerous, in terminal or axillary
panicles. Calyx simple, crateriform, subtruncate, usually 5-denticulate; corolla white, zygomorphic,
infundibuliform, bilabiate, divided up to half its length, pubescent outside; stamens 4, didynamous,
subexserted; ovary superior, bicarpellate, conical, densely pubescent, the ovules in 2-4-series per locule.
Fruit a linear capsule, compressed, smooth, with the valves parallel to the septum; seeds numerous,
flat, with 2 hyaline-membranaceous wings. A genus of 14 species of tropical America distributed from
southern Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia.
1. Tynanthus polyanthus (Bur.) Sandw., Kew
Bull. 1953: 465. 1954.
Fig. 48. D-I
BASIONYM: Schizopsis polyanthus Bur.
SYNONYMS: Bignonia caryophyllea Bello
Tynanthus caryophylleus (Bello) Alain
Bejuco de clavo
Liana that climbs by tendrils, 10-20 m in
length. Stems more or less quadrangular,
tomentose, interpetiolar zone not glandular,
usually with an interpetiolar line, attaining 3 cm
or more in diameter; cross section of the mature
stem with a cross of 4 arms formed by the phloem
tissue, with a strong odor of cloves; pseudostipules
foliaceous, ca. 1 cm long, deciduous. Leaves
opposite, 2-foliolate, sometimes with a simple
tendril, in the form of a spiral, up to 15 cm long;
leaflets 6-13 × 3.5-10 cm, broadly ovate to
subcircular, membranaceous, the apex cuspidate
or short-acuminate, the base truncate, rounded,
or subcordiform, the margins entire, undulate or
crenulate; upper surface with the venation flat,
glabrous; lower surface puberulent, especially on