Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 15
distribution are usually found in areas of disturbed
or secondary vegetation, and thus their
distribution in Puerto Rico is quite widespread.
Examples of species that show this distributional
range are: Mikania cordifolia, Mikania congesta,
Macfadyena unguis-cati, Cayaponia americana,
Melothria pendula, Ipomoea setifera, Ipomoea
tiliacea, Merremia dissecta, Merremia
quinquefolia, Merremia umbellata, Acacia retusa,
Centrosema pubescens, Vigna luteola,
Cissampelos pareira, Passiflora foetida,
Passiflora rubra, Passiflora suberosa, Paullinia
pinnata, and Cissus verticillata.
The endemic species have, by definition, the
least widespread distributional range, but their
distribution varies considerably from species to
species. Some are found throughout the island(s),
while others are restricted to one or several
localities. Examples of the former are: Forsteronia
portoricensis, Chromolaena borinquensis,
Lepidaploa borinquensis, Mikania fragilis,
Mikania odoratissima, Mikania pachyphylla,
Piptocarpha tetrantha, Clusia gundlachii,
Neorudolphia volubilis, Heteropterys wydleriana,
Marcgravia sintenisii, and Stigmaphyllon
floribundum (shared with the Virgin Islands).
Species restricted to several localities are the
following: Metastelma monense, Matelea
sintenisii, Bidens urbanii, Mikania porosa,
Mikania stevensiana, Passiflora tulae, and Rubus
florulentus. Some of the endemic vines have such
a limited distributional range that they may be
characterized as threatened species; these are the
following: Marsdenia elliptica, Marsdenia
woodburyana, Piptocoma acevedoi, Cordia
bellonis, Gonocalyx concolor, and Galactia
eggersii (endemic to the Virgin Islands).
METHODS
The present work is based on the study of
herbarium specimens, supplemented with fresh
material. This applies both to the descriptions and
to the data on phenology and distribution. The
descriptions and data presented come from plants
collected in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
On rare occasions, the descriptions or
phenological data have been supplemented with
material from other Caribbean islands or
monographic studies of the species in question.
The descriptions that are presented are quite
representative, although it is possible that the
study of fresh material, flowers in particular,
might show larger dimensions than those
mentioned here. The habit dimensions are mostly
based on the study of fresh material and are
estimations, since it is impractical to give absolute
measurements of stem length. In cases where the
species was not seen in the field, information on
the habit comes exclusively from herbarium labels
or literature reports. The distributions have been
supplemented with various floristic publications
on forests or keys and islands belonging to Puerto
Rico (see general references). In particular, the
publications on Cayo Santiago, Desecheo, and
Vieques have been of great help, since I have not
sampled any of these islands.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not be possible without the
collaboration and encouragement of many friends
and colleagues, whose contribution to this work I
acknowledge. This has been a lengthy process that
has taken several decades to complete. Roy O.
Woodbury gave me the original inspiration and
guided me through the processes of botanical
learning. Ariel E. Lugo has been instrumental
since the beginning of this work. His visionary
interest and support for the publication of both
the first volume and the present one have been
essential for this book to see the light of day.
Numerous friends, colleagues, or family members
have collaborated in one way or another in
explorations of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Among these are my wife Amneris Siaca, my
daughter Liana, and my nephew Javier, as well
as my friends and colleagues Migdalia Álvarez,
Franklin S. Axelrod, Gary Breckon, Miguel
Canals, J. Arnaldo Cedeño, Danilo Chinea, Livia
Colón, José M. (Papo) López, George R. Proctor,
Lillian Ramírez, Anne Reilly, Jeanine Vélez, Ivan
Vicens, and Papo Vives.
Numerous colleagues have contributed to the
discussion of various aspects of this work. Dan
Nicolson (US) has been an invaluable resource in
discussions related to nomenclatural problems, as
well as several aspects of the classification of the
Araceae. Gisela Sancho (LP) edited the whole