Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 285
7a. Stipules truncate at the base; peduncle of the inflorescence as long as or shorter than the accompanying
leaf; legume oblong, 8-9 mm wide, curved in the middle...................…………..1. V. adenantha
7b. Stipules asymmetrical, the base auriculate on only one side; legume linear, curved in the distal
portion, 3-4 mm wide…….............…….…………………………………..….2. V. antillana
8a. Plant more or less glabrous; legume 10-40 cm long …………………..….8. V. unguiculata
8b. Plant ferruginous-pilose; legume 7-11 cm long ………………………….......9. V. vexillata
1. Vigna adenantha (G. Meyer) Marechal,
Mascherpe & Stanier, Taxon 27: 202. 1978.
Fig.114. E-H
BASIONYM: Phaseolus adenanthus G. Meyer
Habichuela cimarrona
Slightly woody vine, twining, climbing,
attainig 3-5 m in length. Stems slender, almost
cylindrical, glabrous or pilose. Leaves alternate,
trifoliolate; leaflets chartaceous, with three
principal veins from the base, the apex acute,
obtuse, or acuminate, the upper surface glabrous,
sometimes sparsely appressed-pubescent, the
lower surface pale green, appressed-pubescent,
especially on the prominent veins, the margins
deeply sinuate; terminal leaflet lanceolate or ovate,
3-9.5(15.5) × 1.5-5.3(9.6) cm, the base cuneate
or obtuse; lateral leaflets markedly asymmetrical,
with one side elliptical and the other ovate or
lanceolate, the base cuneate-obtuse; petiolules
pubescent, 2-5 mm long; rachis 1-2 cm long,
striate, pilose; petioles canaliculate, striate, pilose
or glabrous, 3-9.5 cm long; stipules triangular,
3-4 mm long, glabrous, conspicuously veined,
truncate at the base; stipels oblong, ca. 2 mm long.
Inflorescence of axillary pseudoracemes, 4-12 cm
long, with 2 flowers per node; peduncle appressedpubescent
or glabrous; pedicels 1.6-2 mm long,
glabrous; bracts in pairs, lanceolate, deciduous.
Calyx green, glabrous, campanulate, 5-7.5 mm
long, with 3 lanceolate lobes, longer than the two
central ones, which are rounded and fused; corolla
pale violet; standard reniform, retuse at the apex,
2.2-3 cm long and up to 2.5 cm wide, pale violet,
whitish toward the margins, with the vexillar
callus yellow; wings 2.2-2.5 cm long, obovate,
twisted, enclosing the keel, pale violet, dark violet
toward the apex, or sometimes pale yellow; keel
up to 3 cm wide, pale violet to whitish, spirally
twisted at the apex (½-1½ turns). Legume oblong,
curved, flattened, the area of the seeds slightly
prominent, 7-11 cm long, 8-9 mm wide,
puberulent, scabrous along the margins, the apex
acute, recurved. Seeds 11-16, almost circular,
flattened, ca. 6 mm wide, dark brown.
Phenology: Collected in flower and fruit from
December to April.
Status: Probably native, rather common.
Distribution: Moist disturbed areas at lower
and middle elevations. Native to tropical America,
cultivated in Africa and Asia.
Public Forests: El Yunque, Guajataca, and Río
Abajo.
2. Vigna antillana (Urb.) Fawcett & Rendle, Fl.
Jam. 4(2): 69. 1920.
Fig. 114. A-D
BASIONYM: Phaseolus antillanus Urb.
Herbaceous vine, twining, climbing, attainig
3-5 m in length. Stems cylindrical, glabrous,
reddish on the young portions. Leaves alternate,
trifoliolate; leaflets chartaceous, 3-9 × 2-7 cm,
the apex acuminate, the margins entire, slightly
revolute; upper surface glabrous or puberulent,
with slightly prominent venation; lower surface
glabrous or puberulent, with prominent venation;
terminal leaflet broadly ovate or deltate, the base
cuneate or truncate, with three main veins; lateral
leaflets markedly asymmetrical, with one side
oblong and the other broadly ovate, the base
truncate; petiolules puberulent, 4-5 mm long;
rachis 2-2.5 cm long, marginate, puberulent or
glabrous; petioles marginate, puberulent or
glabrous, 3-10 cm long; stipules lanceolate, 6-8
mm long, asymmetrical at the base, one side
auriculate; stipels subulate, minute, persistent.
Inflorescence of axillary pseudoracemes, up to 30
cm long, with 2 flowers per node; peduncle
glabrous or puberulent; pedicels 2-3 mm long,
glabrous; bracts minute, persistent. Calyx green,
puberulent, campanulate, 4-5 mm long, the lobes
more or less of the same length, 3 of them
triangular, the 2 central ones rounded and fused;