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Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

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132<br />

<strong>Vines</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Climbing</strong> <strong>Plants</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Puerto</strong> <strong>Rico</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Virgin</strong> Isl<strong>and</strong>s<br />

<strong>the</strong> veins; petioles <strong>and</strong> petiolules puberulent or<br />

short-pubescent, <strong>the</strong> petioles 1.7-4 cm long, deeply<br />

canaliculate, <strong>the</strong> petiolules 1.2-3 (-5) cm long.<br />

Flowers numerous in terminal or axillary panicles,<br />

bracteate, <strong>the</strong> axes pubescent; pedicels ca. 1 mm<br />

long. Calyx green, crateriform, 1-1.5 mm long,<br />

subtruncate, minutely 5-denticulate, puberulent;<br />

corolla white, tubular, bilabiate, ca. 4 mm long,<br />

puberulent outside, <strong>the</strong> 2 upper lobes smaller than<br />

<strong>the</strong> lower, <strong>the</strong> 3 lower lobes 2-3 mm long; stamens<br />

didynamous, inserted; ovary conical, ca. 0.8 mm<br />

long, densely appressed- pubescent; annular disc<br />

pubescent. Capsule linear, compressed, somewhat<br />

woody, dark brown, 15-27 × 0.5-0.7 cm, with <strong>the</strong><br />

midvein inconspicuous; seeds numerous, brown,<br />

4-5 mm long, <strong>the</strong> wings hyaline-membranaceous.<br />

Phenology: Collected in flower in July <strong>and</strong> in<br />

fruit in April.<br />

Status: Exotic, cultivated, uncommon.<br />

Distribution: Native to western Amazonia,<br />

sporadically cultivated in <strong>Puerto</strong> <strong>Rico</strong>, Jamaica,<br />

Cuba, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Dominican Republic.<br />

References: Gentry, A. H. 1982. Bignoniaceae. Flora de Venezuela. Ediciones Fundación. Venezuela.<br />

Hawk, W. D. 1997. A review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> genus Cydista. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 84: 815-840.<br />

9. Family BORAGINACEAE<br />

Key to <strong>the</strong> genera<br />

1a. Corolla campanulate; style bifid, each branch again bifid, for a total <strong>of</strong> 4 stigmas .......... 1. Cordia<br />

1b. Corolla infundibuliform; style simple, bilobed .......................................................... 2. Tournefortia<br />

1. CORDIA<br />

Shrubs or trees <strong>and</strong> sometimes sc<strong>and</strong>ent shrubs. Leaves alternate, petiolate; blades simple; stipules<br />

absent. Flowers bisexual, usually heterostylous, in axillary or terminal cymes, panicles, corymbs, or<br />

spikes. Calyx campanulate or tubular, 5-dentate or 5-10 lobed, usually striate <strong>and</strong> accrescent in <strong>the</strong><br />

fruit; corolla actinomorphic, campanulate or hypocrateriform; stamens 5, inserted on <strong>the</strong> corolla tube,<br />

shorter or longer than <strong>the</strong> corolla tube; ovary superior, bicarpellate, each carpel with 2 uniovulate<br />

chambers, <strong>the</strong> style branched into 4 stigmatic branches. Fruit a globose, fleshy drupe, with 1-4 pyrenes.<br />

A genus <strong>of</strong> about 300 species <strong>of</strong> pantropical distribution.<br />

Key to <strong>the</strong> species <strong>of</strong> Cordia<br />

1a. Inflorescences <strong>of</strong> unbranched glomerules; lobes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> corolla almost as long as <strong>the</strong> tube ..............<br />

........................................................................................................................................ 1. C. bellonis<br />

1b. Inflorescences <strong>of</strong> paniculate or corymbose heads; lobes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> corolla much shorter than <strong>the</strong> tube<br />

........................................................................................................................ 2. C. polycephala<br />

1. Cordia bellonis Urb., Symb. Antill. 1: 393.<br />

1899.<br />

Fig. 49. A-F<br />

SYNONYM: Varronia bellonis (Urb.) Britton<br />

Clambering or recumbent shrub, 2-3 m in<br />

length. Stems appressed-pubescent when young,<br />

glabrous when mature. Leaves alternate; blades<br />

2-6 × 1-2 cm, elliptical, oblong to sublanceolate,<br />

chartaceous, <strong>the</strong> apex acute, <strong>the</strong> base acute or<br />

obtuse, <strong>the</strong> margins dentate or denticulate,<br />

especially on <strong>the</strong> distal portion; upper surface with<br />

short appressed hairs that give it a scabrid texture,<br />

<strong>the</strong> midvein slightly prominent; lower surface pale

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