Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 153
with the midvein yellowish; lower surface
yellowish green, with a prominent midvein;
petioles thick, 1-2 cm long. Flowers numerous,
unisexual, arranged in dichasial cymes to form a
terminal thyrse, as long as wide. Calyx green,
crateriform, of 4 sepals, concave, rounded, in 2
series, the 2 outer sepals ca. 3 mm long, the inner
ones ca. 4 mm long; corolla tubular, ellipsoid or
ovoid, 2-3 mm long; staminate flowers with 10
stamens included within the corolla; pistillate
flowers with sterile stamens, ovary urceolate, 4-
5-locular, the stigmas sessile. In addition to the
fertile inflorescences, this species produces sterile
inflorescences, pendulous, much branched, with
numerous green bracts, opposite and decussate
along the axes. Capsule fleshy, ovoid or ellipsoid,
1.6-2 cm long, greenish, opening by 4-5 valves,
each of which contains a row of minute, elliptical
seeds, covered with a sticky orange matrix.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout
the year.
Status: Endemic to Puerto Rico, rather
common.
Distribution: Principally in moist forests along
the Cordillera Central and the Sierra de Luquillo,
but extending toward the dry forests of the south
coast.
16. Family COMBRETACEAE
1. COMBRETUM
Public forests: Carite, El Yunque, Guánica,
Guilarte, Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, and Toro
Negro.
Commentary: This species, described by Dr.
Agustín Stahl, was dedicated to Dr. Juan
Gundlach, a German naturalist resident in Cuba,
who had visited Puerto Rico in 1873 and in 1875-
76. This species is superficially similar to Clusia
minor L., which can be distinguished from C.
gundlachii by the following key.
1a. Clambering shrub with long, pendulous
branches; leaves oblanceolate, elliptical, oval,
or ovate, the apex acute or less frequently
obtuse; flowers functionally unisexual, the
pistillate ones with staminodia; corolla tubular,
ellipsoid or ovoid, 2-3 mm long, closed at the
apex to form a calyptra; fruit ovoid or ellipsoid
………..………………….....…C. gundlachii
1b. Erect shrub; leaves oblanceolate or spathulate,
the apex rounded or obtuse; flowers
hermaphroditic or pistillate (the latter with a
resinous ring in place of the staminodia);
corolla of free petals, rounded, ca. 1.5 cm long;
fruit ovoid or subglobose..........……C. minor
Trees, erect or scandent shrubs, or lianas. Leaves opposite or sometimes alternate or whorled;
blades simple; petioles articulated at the base. Flowers 4-5-merous, bisexual, sessile or short-pedicellate,
arranged in heads, racemes, spikes, or compound paniculiform inflorescences; bracts foliaceous or
reduced. Calyx forming an infundibuliform, tubular, or cupular hypanthium that projects beyond the
ovary, with the sepals on the distal portion of the hypanthium; corolla of free petals or absent; stamens
8-10, in one or two whorls, exserted or inserted; ovary inferior, with 2-6 ovules, the style simple, free
or adnate to the hypanthium. Fruit dry, indehiscent or dehiscent, with 4 or 5 wings or ribs; seed one.
About 270 species of tropical distribution, with numerous species in Africa.
Key to the species of Combretum
1a. Hypanthium infundibuliform, red-purple; stamens exserted, in a single whorl; inflorescences spicate,
with the flowers densely clustered ........................................................................ 1. C. grandiflorum
1b. Hypanthium long-tubular, green; stamens inserted in two whorls; inflorescences racemose, with
the flowers dispersed ..................................................................................................... 2. C. indicum