Diagnostic description ³

Galactia eggersii Urb., Symb. Antill. 2: 311. 1900.

Fig. 105. F-H

Non-woody vine, twining, attainig 2 m in length. Stems slender, green, appressedpubescent, glabrous when mature. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate; leaflets 1-3 × 0.7-2.1 cm, subcoriaceous, elliptical to rounded, involute, the apex emarginate, rounded, mucronate, the base rounded, the margins entire; upper surface dark green, slightly shiny, puberulent; lower surface pale green, dull, pubescent, with the midvein prominent; petioles 0.5-2 cm long; stipules lanceolate, 2-3 mm long; stipels subulate. Inflorescences of axillary pseudoracemes, of one or a few flowers; rachis 1-2.5 cm long, pubescent; flowers 1-3, clustered on the swellings of the rachis; bracts minute, persistent. Calyx almost campanulate, green, pilose, 8-12 mm long, the sepals unequal; corolla brilliant red, the standard elliptical, 14-18 mm long, reflexed, the wings and the keel as long as the standard; style white. Legume 5-6 × 0.5-0.6 cm, oblong-linear, flattened, slightly curved, pubescent, with the margins slightly sinuate. Seeds ca. 5 mm long, reniform, dark brown, shiny.

Phenology: Collected in flower and fruit from December to February.

Status: Endemic, uncommon.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 2483; 4138.

Distribution ⁴

Distribution: In coastal thickets or in areas of disturbed vegetation, along the littoral zone. Endemic to Guana Island, St. John, St. Thomas, and Tortola.

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=10351178
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=10351177
3. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435366
4. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435848

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