Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 371
puberulent, with a tuft of hairs in the axils of the
secondary veins, with glandular papillae; terminal
leaflets 4-6 × 1.5-2.5 cm, lanceolate, the apex
acuminate, the acumen obtuse, the base longattenuate;
lateral leaflets 1-2 × 0.7-1 cm, almost
elliptical, the apex obtuse, the base acute or obtuse;
rachis narrowly winged, 1-1.6 cm long; petioles
not winged, 7-12 mm long; stipules triangular,
ca. 1 mm long; tendrils in pairs, spirally twisted,
at the end of short axillary axes, from which an
inflorescence usually develops. Inflorescences of
axillary racemiform thyrses, with few sessile
flowers, zygomorphic, in lateral cincinni; axes
tomentose. Calyx whitish green, of 5 sepals, 2-
2.5 mm long; petals white, cuneate at the base,
ca. 2 mm long; petaliferous appendages slightly
shorter than the petals, fleshy and yellow at the
apex, forming a hood that encloses the glands of
the disc; stamens 8, the filaments unequal; ovary
trilocular. Capsule three-winged, red, 1-1.5 cm
long. Seeds one per locule, black, obovoid, slightly
laterally compressed, ca. 6 mm long, with a white
and emarginate aril on the lower half.
Phenology: Collected in flower and fruit
during February and March.
Status: Exotic, naturalized, locally common
on St. Croix.
Distribution: In disturbed areas at lower
elevations; cultivated and locally naturalized at
the Experimental Station in Mayagüez. Native to
Cuba, Mexico, Central America, Trinidad,
Tobago, and northern South America.
2. Paullinia pinnata L., Sp. Pl. 366. 1753.
Fig. 150. I-O
Bejuco de costilla, Bejuco de paloma, Basket
wiss
Woody vine that climbs by means of tendrils
and attains 6-10 m in length. Stems obtuse, 3-5angular,
glabrous or pubescent on the young
portions, glabrescent when mature, up to 6 cm in
diameter and producing scarce milky latex when
cut; bark smooth, light brown; cross section with
a central vascular cylinder and 2 or 3 peripheral
vascular cylinders, smaller than the central one.
Leaves alternate, pinnately 5-foliolate; leaflets
coriaceous, 5-16 × 2.2-6 cm (the distal leaflet
larger), elliptical, ovate, or lanceolate, the apex
acute, the base attenuate or acute on the terminal
leaflet and obtuse or rounded and sometimes
asymmetrical on the lateral ones, the margins
deeply serrate; upper surface glabrous or
puberulent along the midvein, green, shiny, with
slightly prominent venation; lower surface
glabrous or puberulent along the midvein, green,
dull, the venation prominent, with a tuft of hairs
in the axils of the secondary veins; rachis and
petioles broadly winged; stipules subulate, ca. 5
mm long; tendrils in pairs, spirally twisted, at the
end of short axillary axes, from which an
inflorescence usually develops. Flowers
zygomorphic, in axillary racemiform thyrses; axis
of the inflorescence tomentose. Calyx light green,
puberulent, of 5 sepals, the two outer ones ca. 2
mm long, the inner ones 4-5 mm long; petals
white, obovate, 4-5 mm long; petaliferous
appendages slightly shorter than the petals, fleshy
and yellow at the apex, forming a hood that
encloses the glands of the disc; disc unilateral,
with 4 rounded to ovoid glands. Capsule pyriform,
not winged, red, 1.5-3 cm long. Seeds 12-15 mm
long, ellipsoid, with a white aril, covering the base
and more than half of the two sides.
Phenology: Flowering from April to
November and fruiting from October to July.
Status: Native, rather common.
Distribution: In forests and pastures at middle
and lower elevations, in moist or dry places. Also
on Vieques and Tortola; throughout the Neotropics
and tropical Africa.
Public Forests: Carite, El Yunque, Guilarte,
Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, and Toro Negro.
3. Paullinia plumieri Triana & Planchon, Ann.
Sci. Nat. Bot. Sér. 4: 18. 360. 1862.
Fig. 150. E-H
Woody vine that climbs by means of tendrils
and attains 3-7 m in length. Stems cylindrical,
tomentose or tomentulose, up to 0.5 cm in
diameter; cross section simple (with a single
vascular cylinder). Leaves alternate, biternate;
leaflets chartaceous, the margins serrate, revolute;
upper surface glabrous, puberulent on the
midvein; lower surface with prominent venation
and puberulent, with a tuft of hairs in the axils of
the secondary veins, the tertiary venation dark,