Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 337
solitary or in pairs; pedicels pubescent, 3-5 cm
long. Sepals oblong, 1.3-2.5 cm long, pilose and
green on the outer surface, white on the inner
surface; petals linear, whitish, 0.9-1.5 cm long;
corona biseriate, the outer segments filiform, 1-
1.3 cm long, pink to purple, the inner ones minute;
gynophore cylindrical, 0.6-1 cm long; stamens 5,
greenish; ovary ellipsoid-globose, green, hirsute,
the styles reflexed, the stigmas capitate. Fruit a
fleshy capsule, tardily dehiscent, up to 2 cm in
diameter, ellipsoid or ovoid, red or red-pink,
pilose, with 8 longitudinal ribs. Seeds numerous,
elliptical, 3-4 mm long, transversely sulcate,
covered by a white aril.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout
the year.
Status: Native, very common.
Distribution: In disturbed areas, at lower to
middle elevations. Also on Vieques, St. Croix, St.
John, St. Thomas, Tortola, and throughout tropical
America.
Public Forests: Carite, El Yunque, Maricao,
Río Abajo, and Susúa.
11. Passiflora serrato-digitata L., Sp. Pl. 960.
1753.
Fig. 136. A-B
Tagua-tagua
Slightly woody vine that climbs by means of
tendrils and attains 10-15 m in length. Stems
cylindrical, brittle, attaining 1 cm in diameter;
cross section with the pith hollow. Leaves
alternate, 5-7-palmately lobed, 9-15 × 14-20 cm,
the lobes oblong, acuminate at the apex, the base
subcordiform, the margins finely serrate; upper
surface shiny, glabrous; lower surface glabrous,
with prominent venation; petioles 6.5-15 cm long,
glabrous, with a pair of conical stipitate glands at
the base of the blade and another in the middle;
tendrils simple, axillary, longer than the leaves.
Flowers solitary, axillary, subtended by an
involucre of 3 foliaceous bracts, ca. 4 cm long,
ovate, fleshy, with the veins notably pink. Sepals
lanceolate, ca. 3 × 2.5 cm, greenish yellow with
pink dots. Petals 5, white, oblong, ca. 3 × 1 cm;
corona biseriate, the segments filiform, violet;
anthers ca. 13 mm long; stigmas subglobose. Fruit
a globose berry, crustaceous, 5-6.5 in diameter,
yellow when ripe. Seeds numerous, more or less
elliptical, ca. 6 mm long, foveate.
Phenology: Flowering from June to September
and fruiting from August to February.
Status: Native, rare.
Distribution: Known in Puerto Rico from the
Sierra de Luquillo, in moist gallery forests. Also
in Hispaniola, the Lesser Antilles, and South
America.
Public Forest: El Yunque.
12. Passiflora sexflora Juss., Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat.
Paris 6: 110, t. 37, f. 1. 1805.
Fig. 136. C-G.
Parchita
Herbaceous vine that climbs by means of
tendrils and attains 6 m in length. Stems slender,
pubescent, almost cylindrical or angular, attaining
4 mm in diameter. Leaves alternate, simple,
bilobate or less frequently with a third (short) lobe
in a central position, 6-8(10) × 3.5-14 cm,
chartaceous, with three main veins that are borne
from the base, the lobes acute, divergent, the apex
of the blade forming a central lobe, more or less
deep, rounded, mucronate, the base subcordiform,
the margins entire; upper surface pubescent,
especially on the veins; lower surface with the
veins prominent, pubescent; petioles 2-3 cm long,
pubescent, with a violet tonality, without glands;
stipules subulate, 3-5 mm long; tendrils axillary,
simple, pubescent, ca. 6 cm long. Flowers minute,
in axillary cymes; peduncles pubescent, 5-7 mm
long; pedicels ca. 7 mm long, pubescent. Sepals
yellowish green, 8-15 mm long, lanceolate,
abaxially pubescent; petals 5, whitish, 8-9 × 2
mm, linear; corona biseriate, the filaments white
with mulberry-colored bands, 5-8 mm long;
stamens 5; stigmas subglobose. Fruit a depressedglobose
berry, dark violet, pubescent, 5-8 mm in
diameter. Seeds numerous, ca. 2 mm long,
depressed-ovoid, rugulose.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting from
September to May.
Status: Native, relatively common.
Distribution: In forests and weedy places at
middle and upper elevations in moist zones. Also
on Tortola; Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, the Lesser
Antilles, the United States (Florida), and Mexico.
Public Forests: Carite, El Yunque, Guajataca,
Guilarte, Maricao, Río Abajo, and Toro Negro.