Revision of Passiflora Subgenus Decaloba ... - Passion Flowers

283
shallowly trilobed leaves (commonly less than half the distance from the leaf
outline to the leaf base) with the length of the central lobe often greatly exceeding
that of the lateral lobes and an angle between the lateral veins that is frequently
between 40 and 80°. The lateral lobes are also oblong to elliptic. The broadly
capitate petiolar nectaries are commonly positioned on the distal half of the
petiole, often over 0.60 the distance from the base to the apex of the petiole.
The leaf bases are often cuneate to acute but rarely cordate. In México and
Central America, Passiflora suberosa ssp. litoralis is often found in high elevation
(1000 -3000 m) moist pine and oak forests along streams and rivers, but it may
also occur in very dry forests with cacti (e.g., Cephalocereus forests of
Tehuacán) and other species common in matorral vegetation (e.g., Tamaulipan
matorral).
On the western side of South America (Colombia to Perú and Argentina), P.
suberosa ssp. litoralis possesses leaves very much like those of the
México/Central American variant, but the petiolar nectaries may be more discoid
and are commonly positioned on the proximal half of the petiole. The lateral
lobes are commonly distinctly ovate and diverge at an angle of 80-100°. The leaf
bases are also distinctly cordate. In this region it is found in low (near sea level
and on cliffs above the sea) to high (to 3,000 m) elevation moist forests
commonly along streams and rivers, but it also occurs in tropical dry forests.
On the eastern side of South America, in southeastern Brazil, the leaves are
commonly trilobed but may also have unlobed, bilobed or trilobed leaves present
on the same plant. The petiolar nectaries are commonly discoid and positioned