Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

192
Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
2.2 cm long, the limb with obtuse lobes, slightly
reflexed; stamens and stigmas pale yellow, not
exserted. Capsules depressed-globose, opening by
4 valves, 0.7-1 cm long, light brown, glabrous;
seeds obtusely trigonal, 3-4.5 mm long, black,
covered with whitish lanate hairs.
Phenology: Flowering throughout the year,
especially from November to May.
Status: Native, very common.
Distribution: In disturbed areas, on roadsides
and in pastures, at lower elevations. Also on
Culebra, Mona, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St.
Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; throughout
tropical America.
Public forests: Cambalache, Ceiba, Guajataca,
Guánica, Mona, Río Abajo, Susúa, and Toro
Negro.
5. Merremia tuberosa (L.) Rendle in Dyer, Fl.
Trop. Afr. 4: 104. 1905.
Fig. 76. E-G
BASIONYM: Ipomoea tuberosa L.
Flor de palo
Woody vine, climbing, twining, 10-15 m in
length, with abundant milky latex. Stems thick,
cylindrical, glabrous. Leaves alternate; blades
simple, 7-12 × 6-11 cm, 7-palmatilobed, the lobes
elliptical, long-acuminate at the apex, the base
cordiform, the margins revolute, slightly sinuate;
upper surface dark green, slightly shiny, glabrous,
with the venation sunken; lower surface pale
green, dull, glabrous or puberulous, with the
venation yellowish, prominent; petioles as long
as the blade, cylindrical, glabrous or puberulous.
Flowers functionally unisexual, solitary or in
simple dichasia. Calyx yellowish green, the sepals
unequal, 2-3 cm long, fleshy, accrescent and
woody once the fruit is formed; corolla yellow,
infundibuliform, 4-5 cm long, the limb 4-5 cm in
diameter; stamens exserted, the anthers white;
stigma bilobed, green, exserted. Capsules ovoid,
opening irregularly, 1.5-2.5 cm long, light brown,
with the sepals persistent and accrescent at the
base; seeds 4 per fruit, black, obtusely trigonal,
1-1.5 cm long, velvety.
Phenology: Flowering from October to
December and fruiting from November to March.
Status: Exotic, cultivated and naturalized,
uncommon.
Distribution: Ornamental plant, sometimes
naturalized in disturbed areas. Also on St. Croix
and St. John. Native to tropical America but found
widely distributed throughout the tropics.
6. Merremia umbellata (L.) H. Hallier, Bot.
Jahrb. Syst. 16: 552. 1893.
Fig. 76. H-L
BASIONYM: Convolvulus umbellatus L.
SYNONYM: Ipomoea polyanthes Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.
Aguinaldo amarillo, Yellow morning glory
Slightly woody vine, climbing or creeping,
twining, attaining 5 m in length, with scarce milky
latex. Stems slender, cylindrical, glabrous or
pubescent, green or copper-colored, with a pair
of spiniform projections at the nodes. Leaves
alternate; blades simple, 4-17 × 5-12 cm, ovate
or lanceolate, chartaceous, glabrous, the apex
obtuse, acute, or short-acuminate and mucronate,
the base cordiform or sagittate, the margins
undulate; upper surface yellowish green, dull,
glabrous, with the venation sunken, covered with
minute white hairs; lower surface glabrous, with
the veins puberulous; petioles cylindrical, usually
longer than the blade, pubescent. Flowers in
umbelliform cymes, axillary; peduncles shorter
than the petioles, angular or cylindrical,
puberulous, sometimes with winged projections;
pedicels ca. 2 cm long, puberulous. Calyx green,
the sepals unequal, 1-1.5 cm long, glabrous,
overlapping, ovate or rounded; corolla brilliant
yellow, infundibuliform, 2.5-3 cm long, the limb
ca. 3 cm in diameter, with obtuse lobes; stamens
white, not exserted; stigmas greenish, slightly
exserted. Capsule globose, 4-valvate, ca. 1 cm
long, brown, covered by the persistent sepals;
seeds obtusely trigonal, 5-8 mm long, brown,
velvety, with a line of longer hairs on two of the
margins.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting from
November to April and sometimes later in the year.
Status: Native, very common.
Distribution: In disturbed areas, on roadsides
and in pastures and vacant lots, at lower to middle
elevations. Also on Vieques, St. Croix, St. John,
St. Thomas, and Tortola; throughout tropical
America.
Public forests: Guánica and Susúa.