Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 181
or lavender, usually reddish at the base in the
center, infundibuliform or campanulate, 1.4-1.6
cm long, the limb ca. 1 cm in diameter; stamens
sagittate, white, two of them shorter, not exserted;
stigmas globose, white, not exserted. Capsule
depressed-globose, brown, ca. 8 mm in diameter,
pilose, with the style persistent; seeds 4 per fruit,
3-5 mm long, glabrous, dark brown to black.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout the
year.
Status: Native, very common.
Distribution: In grasslands and pastures and on
roadsides. Also on Icacos, Caja de Muerto,
Desecheo, Mona, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John,
St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda.
Naturalized in tropical regions of the Old
World.
Public forests: Boquerón, Guánica, Mona,
Piñones, and Río Abajo.
Commentary: In the absence of the corolla, this
species can be confused with I. tiliacea in
individuals with relatively large and unlobed
leaves. Nevertheless, I. triloba is distinguished
by having pilose sepals, while those of I.
tiliacea are glabrous.
23. Ipomoea violacea L., Sp. Pl. 161. 1753.
Fig. 1. B; 72. I-K
SYNONYMS: Convolvulus tuba Schltdl.
Calonyction tuba (Schltdl.) Colla
Ipomoea tuba (Schltdl.) G. Don
Ipomoea macrantha Roem. & Schult.
Convolvulus grandiflorus L.f.
Operculina grandiflora (L.f.) House, pro parte
Bejuco de vaca, Flor de luna, Coast moon vine,
Beach morning glory
Slightly woody vine, twining, up to 15 m in
length, with abundant milky latex. Stems
cylindrical or subtriangular, grayish, with
numerous lenticels usually arranged in lines; adult
stems up to 3 cm in diameter, cross section with
numerous alternating concentric rings of xylem
and phloem. Leaves alternate; blades 9-15 × 7-11
cm, glabrous, broadly ovate, sometimes trilobed,
fleshy-coriaceous, usually involute, the apex acute
or acuminate, mucronate, the base cordiform or
deeply cordiform, the margins undulate; upper
surface light green, with the venation yellowish;
lower surface pale green, shiny, with prominent
venation; petioles cylindrical, glabrous, yellowish
green, longer than the blade, with a pair of
triangular glands at the base of the blade, swollen
at the base. Flowers nocturnal, solitary or in
simple dichasial cymes, axillary; peduncles
cylindrical, up to 7 cm long, with two bracteoles
in the upper middle portion. Calyx yellowish
green, accrescent, the sepals unequal, 2-2.5 cm
long, fleshy, concave, glabrous, the apex obtuse
to rounded; corolla white, hypocrateriform,
coriaceous, 5-7 cm long, the tube externally
yellowish, internally with numerous transparent
hairs and cardinal red fringes at the base, the limb
6-7 cm in diameter, with 5 obtuse lobes; stamens
and stigmas not exserted. Capsules globose or
depressed-globose, yellowish brown, 2.5-3 cm in
diameter, with accrescent sepals, persistent at the
base; seeds 4, obtusely angular, 1-1.2 cm long,
brown, velvety, with a row of hairs along two
angles.
Phenology: Flowering throughout the year.
Status: Native, common.
Distribution: On the sandy coasts of the littoral
zone. Also on Cayo Ratones, Culebra, Desecheo,
Mona, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas,
and Tortola; the Antilles, the Bahamas, the
Cayman Islands, the United States (Florida), and
from Mexico to the Guianas. Introduced in the
tropics of the Old World.
Public forests: Guánica, Mona, and Piñones.
24. Ipomoea wrightii A. Gray, Syn. Fl. N. Amer.
2(1): 213. 1878.
Fig. 72. D-H
SYNONYM: Ipomoea pulchella sensu Griseb.
Herbaceous vine, annual, twining, climbing,
or creeping, 3-4 m in length. Stems cylindrical,
slender, glabrous, sometimes with minute
spiniform projections. Leaves alternate, palmately
compound; leaflets 5, lanceolate or oblonglanceolate,
1-4 cm long, glabrous, chartaceous,
the apex acute, the base acuminate, the margins
entire; upper surface sparsely punctate, with the
midvein slightly prominent; lower surface pale
green, with prominent venation, punctate or
foveolate; petioles 2-6 cm long, slender, glabrous,
with minute spiniform projections. Flowers
usually solitary, axillary; peduncles 2-4 cm long,
filiform, sinuate or spirally twisted; pedicels thick,
claviform, 0.6-1.5 cm long, usually verrucose on