Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 331
4. Passiflora foetida L., Sp. Pl. 959. 1753.
Fig. 133. J-K
Tagua-tagua, Love–in-the-mist, Papbush
Slightly woody vine, glandular-pubescent,
attainig 5 m in length and climbs by means of
axillary tendrils. Viscid glandular hairs with a
strong disagreeable odor. Stems cylindrical,
slightly striate, glandular-pubescent. Leaves
alternate, chartaceous, usually trilobate, with the
central lobe longer than the lateral ones, or less
frequently simple, 5-12 × 5-10 cm, both surfaces
pubescent, the lobes elliptical to ovate, with the
apex acute or acuminate, the base cordiform or
subcordiform, the margins crenate-serrate;
petioles slender, pubescent, 2-5.5 cm long, pilose,
eglandular; stipules ovate in outline, pinnatifid;
tendrils pubescent, simple, 15 cm or more in
length. Flowers axillary, solitary or clustered in
pairs or threes, subtended by an involucre of three
pinnatifid bracts, 2-3 cm long, glandular-viscid;
pedicels 4-4.5 cm long, pubescent. Sepals 5,
oblong, green, whitish on the inner surface, 2-
2.5 cm long, mucronate at the apex; petals white,
oblong, 2-2.5 cm long; corona multiseriate, the
segments filiform, 15-17 mm long, the innermost
series with a violet band at the base; gynophore
cylindrical, green, with reddish spots, ca. 7 mm
long; stamens 5; ovary ellipsoid, green, sparsely
pilose, the styles pilose, the stigmas capitate. Fruit
a coriaceous or papery berry, ovoid, 1.5-2.5 cm
long, orange when ripe, covered by the persistent
bracts. Seeds numerous, oblong, truncate at both
ends, foveate, ca. 5 mm long, covered by a yellow
aril.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout
the year.
Status: Native, very common.
Distribution: In dry or moist disturbed areas
at lower elevations. Also on Culebra, Mona,
Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and
Tortola; common throughout the Neotropics.
Public Forests: El Yunque, Maricao, Mona,
and Susúa
A very variable species, with 38 varieties
recognized (Killip, 1938). In Puerto Rico 3
varieties are found, and in the Virgin Islands 2
are found. The following key describes the
differences between them.
Key to the varieties
1a. Plants essentially glabrous; fruits red (Puerto
Rico; the United States (Florida), the
Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola)...............…..
.........P. foetida var. riparia (Griseb.) Killip
1b. Plants hirsute; fruits orange…………..2
2a. Ovary pubescent; fruit pubescent or
puberulent, less than 2.5 cm in diameter;
bracts of the involucre slightly laciniate
(Puerto Rico, St. Croix; Jamaica, the Lesser
Antilles, and South America).................
……………….…. P. foetida var. foetida
2b. Ovary glabrous; fruit glabrous, 2-3 cm in
diameter; bracts of the involucre quite
laciniate (Puerto Rico, Culebra, Mona,
Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas,
Tortola; the Antilles, South America, and the
tropics of the Old World) ......................……
…..P. foetida var. hispida (DC.) Gleason
5. Passiflora laurifolia L., Sp. Pl. 956. 1753.
Fig. 133. H-I
Parcha, Bell apple
Woody vine, glabrous, attainig 2-5(-10) m in
length and climbs by means of axillary tendrils.
Young parts with a reddish tinge. Stems
cylindrical, flexible. Leaves alternate, glabrous,
coriaceous, 6.6-12 × 3.7-6.6 cm, oblong or
elliptic-lanceolate, not lobate, the apex rounded
or obtuse, sometimes mucronate or shortapiculate,
the base almost cordiform, truncate to
almost rounded, the margins entire; lower surface
pale green, with the midvein prominent; petioles
0.7-2.5 cm long, reddish, with a pair of globose
glands in the area where they join the blade;
stipules filiform, 8-10 mm long, glandular at the
apex; tendrils simple. Flowers solitary, pendulous,
axillary, subtended by a persistent involucre of 3
ovate bracts, 2.5-4 cm long, with the margins
serrate-glandular; peduncle 2-3.2 cm long. Sepals
oblong-elliptical, 3-4 cm long, violet-pink on the
inner surface, green externally, with a dorsal keel
that projects beyond the apex; petals oblong,
white, with numerous violet dots on the inner
surface, 3.5-4 cm long; corona multiseriate, the
segments filiform, with violet bands, shorter than
the petals; gynophore cylindrical, yellow, ca. 1