Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 383
Distribution: In forests and thickets. Vieques
(according to Liogier, 1995), St. John, St. Thomas
(according to Krebs, 1847), and Tortola; also in
Hispaniola, the Lesser Antilles, Mexico, Central
America, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
2. Solanum seaforthianum Andr., Bot. Repos.
8, t. 504. 1807.
Fig. 155. E-I
Jazmín de Italia, Falsa belladona
Slightly woody vine, scandent, attainig 3-6 m
in length. Stems more or less cylindrical,
puberulent, glabrescent, unarmed. Leaves
alternate, trifoliolate, 5-7(9)-pinnately compound,
5-7(9)-pinnatilobed, or less frequently simple, 4.5-
9(14) × 2.6-10 cm, membranaceous; leaflets or
segments elliptical or oblong-elliptical, the apex
acute or acuminate, the base obtuse to almost
cordiform, asymmetrical, the margins entire;
upper surface dull, appressed-puberulent; lower
surface light green, dull, appressed-puberulent,
especially on the prominent venation; petioles
appressed-puberulent, 2-6.5 cm long, slender.
Flowers in terminal panicles but appearing lateral
(sympodial by apposition), 6-23 cm long,
puberulent; pedicels glabrous or puberulent, 8-
12 mm long. Calyx green, 1-1.5 mm long, shortconical
but attenuate toward the pedicel, glabrous
or puberulent, almost truncate or with 5 very short
lobes, obtuse; corolla lavender (rarely white),
deeply lobate, the lobes 5-12 mm long, oblong or
almost elliptical, expanded; anthers oblong, 3-4
mm long, not connivent, the filaments slightly
unequal; style projecting beyond the anthers, the
stigma capitate. Berry globose, fleshy, crimson,
9-16 mm in diameter. Seeds numerous, circular,
flattened, ca. 3 mm in diameter.
Phenology: Flowering almost throughout the
year, collected in fruit in January, February, and
June.
Status: Exotic, cultivated as an ornamental and
naturalized, although not very common.
Distribution: In disturbed areas, like roadsides
and pastures. Also on Vieques, St. Croix, and St.
Thomas. Native to South America, but cultivated
throughout the tropics.
Public Forests: Carite and Río Abajo.
3. Solanum wendlandii Hook. f., Bot. Mag. t.
6914. 1887.
Fig. 155. J-L
Campana de pascua, Flor de la mañana, Papa
aérea, Giant potato climber
Slightly woody vine, scandent, attainig several
meters in length. Stems cylindrical, glabrous,
unarmed or less frequently with some minute
recurved spines. Leaves alternate, deeply (3)5-7pinnatilobate
or sometimes simple, 4.5-7.5-17 ×
4.6-12 cm, membranaceous, glabrous, with
numerous minute dots, elliptical when simple,
4.5-14 × 4.6-7.5, the apex short-acuminate, the
base obtuse to almost rounded; segments or lobes
elliptical or oblong-elliptical, usually
asymmetrical, the apex acute or acuminate, the
margins entire; lower surface dull, the primary
vein prominent, sometimes with recurved spines;
petioles glabrous, 3-6.5 cm long, usually narrowly
winged, sometimes with recurved spines. Flowers
unisexual, in terminal pseudodichotomous
panicles, 8-20 cm long, glabrous; pedicels
glabrous, 1-1.7 cm long. Staminate flowers: calyx
green, cyathiform, glabrous, 5-7 mm long, with
5 ovate-deltate or ovate lobes, 1-3 mm long,
apiculate at the apex; corolla lavender, rotate,
pentagonal, 3.5-6 cm wide, the lobes apiculate,
ciliate; anthers oblong, 9-10.5 mm long, not
connivent, dehiscent by terminal pores and by
longitudinal sutures, the filaments thick, unequal.
Pistillate flowers and fruits not observed.
Phenology: Collected in flower from April to
October.
Status: Exotic, cultivated as an ornamental and
escaped from cultivation (according to Liogier,
1995), although not very common. The plants of
this species that are found in cultivation seem to
be all male, and apparently reproduce asexually.
Distribution: In moist areas of the cordilleras.
Native to Costa Rica, but widely cultivated in the
tropics for the beauty of its flowers.
Excluded Species:
Solanum pyrifolium Lam. was reported for
Puerto Rico by Liogier (1995) based on one of his
collections (Liogier 34137), from the area of the
Cabezas de San Juan in Fajardo. This species is
here excluded from the flora of Puerto Rico
because his report is based on an erroneous