Tragia volubilis
Diagnostic description 4
Tragia volubilis L., Sp. Pl. 980. 1753.
Climbing or creeping vine, twining, attainig 1-3 m in length. Stems slender, with appressed and glandular stinging hairs. Leaves alternate, usually clustered on short lateral branches, membranaceous, oblong, ovate, or lanceolate, 2-8 × 0.9-4 cm, the apex acuminate, the base subtruncate or cordiform, the margins serrate; upper surface pale green, with stinging glandular hairs, the midvein slightly prominent; lower surface pale green, with prominent venation, puberulent; petioles slender, 0.3-6 cm long; stipules subulate, ca. 4 mm long. Flowers greenish, in axillary racemes. Staminate flowers numerous, along the length of the inflorescence. Calyx 0.8-1 mm long; stamens 2-3. Pistillate flowers on long pedicels at the base of the raceme. Calyx ca. 1 mm long, pilose; ovary hispid. Capsule with three rounded lobes, ca. 7 mm in diameter, covered with stinging hairs. Seeds globose, ca. 2 mm in diameter, brown, smooth.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting almost throughout the year.
Status: Native, rather common.
Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 703; Britton, N.L. 36; 337; Goll, G.P. 539; 631; 1024; Heller, A.A. 340; Millspaugh 696; Sargent, F.H. A75; Sintenis, P. 722; Stevenson, J.A. 991; 1974; Underwood, L.M. 393; 728.
Distribution 5
Distribution: In pastures and secondary forests, at lower elevations, in the limestone zone and in dry areas. Also on Culebra, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; throughout tropical America.
Public Forests: Cambalache, Ceiba, Guajataca, Guánica, Maricao, Río Abajo, and Susúa.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Dick Culbert, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5541/11239950426_2da2b0f61d_o.jpg
- (c) Daniel H. Janzen. Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.boldsystems.org/pics/_w300/MHPAC/BioBot10204-BB041435+1235507682.JPG
- (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=10386068
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435326
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435820
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- 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
