Diagnostic description ³

Distictis lactiflora (Vahl) Dc., Prodr. 9: 191. 1845.

Fig. 3. A; 44. E-H

Basionym: Bignonia lactiflora Vahl

Synonym: Macrodiscus lactiflorus (Vahl)Bureau

Woody vine that climbs by tendrils with adhesive discs and attains 5 m or more in length. Mature stems cylindrical with the bark light brown, shredded; cross section with peripheral phloem forming a cross of 4 arms. Branches quadrangular, striate, puberulous, with thickened nodes; pseudostipules foliaceous, 3-4 mm long, deciduous. Leaves opposite, 2-foliolate, with a terminal tendril with 3 branches, 2 of them modified into an adhesive disc; leaflets 2.7-8 × 2-4.5 cm, oblong, elliptical to subrounded, coriaceous, with the reticulate venation conspicuous, the apex obtuse, acute, or acuminate, the base rounded or acute, unequal; upper surface shiny, glabrous, puberulous, or minutely lepidote; lower surface pale green, dull, covered with minute transparent scales, venation prominent; petioles 1-2 cm long, the petiolules 5-10 mm long, both with 2 rows of crimped hairs. Flowers fragrant, in pendulous, terminal racemes or panicles, 10-30 cm long; peduncles and pedicels pubescent. Calyx simple, green, crateriform, 5-7 mm long, truncate at the apex or minutely denticulate; corolla white, infundibuliform, 2.5-5.5 cm long, the tube yellow inside, the lobes 5, rounded, ca. 1.5 cm long. Capsule woody, elliptical, 6.5-13 × 1.7-3.5 cm, somewhat compressed or subcylindrical, with the apex and base acute; seeds numerous, compressed, ca. 2.5 cm long, the central circular body ca. 7 mm in diameter, with a surrounding marginal hyaline wing.

Phenology: Flowering and fruiting almost throughout the year, especially from November to July.

Status: Native, very common in southwestern Puerto Rico.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 982; 2203; 4660; 5403; 7010; 10557; 11822; Britton, N.L. 1268; 1771; 5849; Goll, G.P. 500; 694; Heller, A.A. 341; Shafer, J.A. 2789; Sintenis, P. 577; 2116; 2173; 3091; 3187; 3304; 6819; Underwood, L.M. 459.

Distribution ⁴

Distribution: In forests and coastal thickets. Also on Cayo Luis Peña, Vieques, St. Croix, and St. Thomas; Cuba and Hispaniola.

Public forest:Cambalache,Ceiba, Guajataca, Guánica, Río Abajo, Susúa, and Vega.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10350811
2. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10350812
3. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435162
4. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435715

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• World Flora Online

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