Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

286
Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
corolla pale violet to violet-pink; standard
obovate, rounded at the apex, 1.5-1.8 cm long,
pale violet; wings longer than the standard,
oblong, unguiculate, pale violet; keel as long as
the standard, twisted in the form of an ‘s’, pale
violet. Legume linear, curved toward the apex,
flattened, the area of the seeds slightly prominent,
6-14 cm long, 3-4 mm wide, puberulent, the apex
terminating in a beak, dehiscent by valves that
twist back on opening. Seeds 15-20, oblong,
slightly flattened, 2-3 mm long, brown or
blackish.
Phenology: Collected in flower and fruit from
December to February.
Status: Native, rather common.
Distribution: In more or less dry and disturbed
areas, at lower elevations. Also on Caja de Muerto,
Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, and Tortola;
throughout the Antilles.
Public Forest: Guánica.
Commentary: This species was treated
erroneously as Phaseolus peduncularis in Flora
of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (Acevedo-Rdgz.
et al., 1996).
3. Vigna hosei (Craib) Backer ex Heyne in Nutt.,
Pl. Nederl. Ind. ed. 2(2): 840. 1927.
Fig. 114. I-L
BASIONYM: Dolichos hosei Craib
Herbaceous vine, creeping or climbing,
attainig 2-3 m in length, often forming a dense
cover on the ground. Stems cylindrical, ca. 1 mm
in diameter, greenish, ferruginous-pilose, much
branched and producing roots in the area of the
nodes. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate; leaflets
chartaceous, with three main veins from the base,
2-4(5) × 1.5-2 cm, the apex obtuse or acute, both
surfaces strigulose, the margins slightly undulate;
terminal leaflet elliptical, obovate, or lanceolate,
the base obtuse or rounded; lateral leaflets
asymmetrical, with one side wider than the other,
the base obtuse-rounded; petiolules pilose, ca. 1
mm long; rachis 4-10 mm long, striate, pilose;
petioles 2-5 cm long, striate, pilose; stipules
lanceolate, ca. 3 mm long, hastate at the base;
stipels oblong or subulate, minute, persistent.
Inflorescence of axillary pseudoracemes, 2-3(7)
cm long, with 1-4 flowers in the distal portion
(1-2 flowers per node); pedicels ca. 2 mm long.
Calyx campanulate, ca. 1.5 mm long, the lobes
ca. 0.7 mm long, triangular-subulate, ciliate;
corolla pale yellow; standard broadly orbicular,
7-9 × 8-11 mm, the wings obovate, ca. 8 mm long,
the keel ca. 7 mm long; ovary with two ovules,
the stigma lobate. Legume oblong, almost
cylindrical, 8-15 mm long, ca. 4 mm wide,
pubescent, slightly compressed between the seeds.
Seeds 1-2, oblong, ca. 5 mm long, dark reddish
brown.
Phenology: Flowering throughout the year.
Status: Exotic, naturalized, locally common.
Distribution: In moist disturbed areas. Native
to Borneo and Java, introduced in the Antilles.
Public Forests: Carite, El Yunque, and Río
Abajo.
4. Vigna longifolia (Benth.) Verdc., Kew Bull.
24: 541. 1970.
Fig. 115. A-C
BASIONYM: Phaseolus longifolius Benth.
SYNONYMS: Phaseolus lanceolatus Bello
Phaseolus ovatus Benth.
Habichuela cimarrona
Herbaceous vine, creeping or climbing,
attainig 2-3 m in length. Stems very slender, 0.5-
1.5 mm in diameter, greenish, ferruginous-pilose
or glabrous when mature, sometimes with roots
in the area of the nodes. Leaves alternate,
trifoliolate; leaflets chartaceous, with three main
veins from the base, 2-6.2 × 0.4-2.2(3) cm,
lanceolate or linear, the apex acute, the base
rounded, the margins slightly undulate; both
surfaces more or less strigulose; lateral leaflets
slightly asymmetrical at the base; petiolules
broadened, pilose, 1-2 mm long; rachis 2-6 mm
long, canaliculate, pilose; petioles 2-5 cm long,
canaliculate, pilose; stipules peltate in the center,
glabrous, persistent, both ends oblong, up to 4
mm long, of the same length or one longer than
the other; stipels oblong, ca. 0.5 mm long,
persistent. Inflorescence of axillary
pseudoracemes, 4-12(22) cm long, the flowers 2
per node, which are found in the distal portion of
the inflorescence; pedicels ca. 2 mm long;
bracteoles in pairs, at the base of the calyx, oblong,
sparsely pilose, 3-5 mm long, deciduous. Calyx
asymmetrically campanulate, 1.5-3 mm long, the
lobes short, obtuse, similar; corolla pale yellow;
standard obovate, ca. 8 mm long, the wings and
the keel more or less of the same length as the