Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 277
purple, the standard semicircular, ca. 10 mm long,
glabrous, the wings obovate, unguiculate, longer
than the standard, the keel spirally twisted, ca. 1
cm long; stamens 10, diadelphous, the vexillar
stamen broadened at the base; ovary strigulose.
Fruit an oblong legume, slightly flattened, straight
or slightly curved, 9-12 × 1-1.2 cm, glabrous,
long-apiculate at the apex, dehiscent by valves
that separate longitudinally. Seeds oblongreniform,
1-1.2 mm long, of various colors,
reddish brown, grayish with dark spots, pink.
Phenology: Collected in flower and fruit from
May to July and in November.
18. PUERARIA
Status: Exotic, cultivated and naturalized,
uncommon.
Distribution: In areas of degraded vegetation,
along trails, on fences, and in thickets. Also
throughout the Antilles. Native to Mesoamerica,
with numerous forms cultivated for millennia in
tropical continental America. Widely cultivated
throughout the world.
Excluded Species:
Phaseolus polystachyos (L.) Britton was
reported for Puerto Rico by Liogier (1982, as P.
polystachios), based on an erroneous
identification of Phaseolus lunatus (Liogier, et al.
31642).
Herbaceous or woody vines, twining. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate; stipules ovate to linear, persistent;
stipels minute. Inflorescences of axillary or terminal pseudoracemes; bracts minute. Calyx campanulate,
with 5 unequal lobes; corolla blue or violet, the standard obovate, retuse at the apex, unguiculate and
auriculate at the base, the wings unguiculate, with a curved appendage at the base of the inner margin,
the keel slightly longer than the wings; stamens 10, monadelphous or diadelphous; ovary superior,
sessile, with several ovules, the style glabrous, curved, the stigma capitate. Fruit a linear legume,
flattened, dehiscent by valves that twist on opening; seeds oblong, numerous. A genus of 6 species
native to southern Asia, with one species introduced in the New World as a forage plant.
1. Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth., J.
Linn. Soc., Bot. 9: 125. 1865.
Fig. 111. A-D
BASIONYM: Dolichos phaseoloides Roxb.
Kudzu tropical, Corsú
Herbaceous vine, twining, much branched,
attainig 15 m in length. Stems cylindrical, pilose.
Leaves alternate, trifoliolate; leaflets 3-12(14) ×
2.9-8.7(13) cm, chartaceous, ovate or rhombic,
the lateral ones asymmetrical, the apex acute, the
base cuneate on the central leaflet, rounded-obtuse
on the lateral ones, the margins entire; upper
surface dark green, dull, pubescent, especially on
the veins; lower surface pale green, strigose, with
prominent venation; petiolules swollen, 4-5 mm
long, pubescent; petioles sulcate, pubescent, up
to 12 cm long, with the base swollen; stipules
narrowly lanceolate, 3-5 mm long; stipels
subulate, minute, persistent. Pseudoracemes
axillary, up to 25 cm long, with 2-3 flowers per
node; bracts minute, persistent; peduncles
pubescent. Calyx campanulate, ca. 5 mm long.
Legume linear, flattened, 6-9 cm long, slightly
curved, dehiscent by valves that open in a spiral,
the valves septate between the seeds. Seeds
numerous, ca. 3 mm long, oblong, dark brown to
almost black.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting from
November to March.
Status: Exotic, naturalized, very aggressive
and very common.
Distribution: In moist disturbed areas, at
middle and lower elevations. Also on St. John.
Native to tropical Asia, introduced in Africa and
the Americas as a forage plant.
Public Forests: Carite, El Yunque, Maricao,
Río Abajo, and Tortuguero.
Commentary: Apparently originally
introduced on lands of the Agricultural
Experiment Station in Mayagüez in Puerto Rico
in 1940 from material from Malaya; today this
species has a wide distribution throughout Puerto
Rico.