Diagnostic description ²

Mikania congesta Dc., Prodr. 5: 197. 1836.

Fig. 35. A-D

Synonyms: Mikania micrantha var. congesta (Dc.) L. B. Rob.

Mikania scandens sensu A. Stahl, non Willd.

Herbaceous vine, twining, 2-5 m in length. Stems cylindrical or angular, striate, puberulous, or pilose. Leaves opposite; blades 2.5-14 × 1-10 cm, deltate-ovate or oblong-ovate, chartaceous, with 3-5 main veins, the apex acute or acuminate, the base cordiform, the margins entire or weakly dentate or undulate; upper surface dull green, glabrous or puberulous; lower surface puberulous, densely covered with resinous dots; petioles 1.5-14 cm long, puberulous; pseudostipules forming a ring of lanceolate segments, early deciduous. Capitula numerous, sessile or short-pedunculate (4-5 mm long), arranged in dense, globose or corymbiform glomerules, terminal or at the end of short lateral branches; subinvolucral bract acicular, 2.5-4 mm long, puberulous; phyllaries oblong, 3-4 mm long, pilose, light green. Corollas white, infundibuliform, 2.5-3.5 mm long, with resinous dots at the apex. Achenes 3-3.5 mm long, black, cuneiform, with resinous dots; pappus of 33-37 bristles, white, scabrous, ca. 3 mm long.

Phenology: Flowering and fruiting from November to March.

Status: Native, relatively common.

Commentary: Mikania congesta is very similar to M. micrantha; nevertheless, it can be distinguished from M. micrantha by the subinvolucral bracts usually of the same length or longer than the phyllaries (vs. shorter) and by the capitula arranged in subglobose glomerules (vs. capitula in corymbs).

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 2256; 7786; 11386; Axelrod, F. 3118; 7294; Britton, N.L. 2371; Liogier, A.H. 10709; 32923; Shafer, J.A. 1972; Sintenis, P. 154; 2093; 3873; Stevenson, J.A. 1704.

Distribution ³

Distribution: Of wide distribution, in disturbed areas at lower and middle elevations. Also in Jamaica, Martinique, northern South America, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.

Public forest: Guánica, Maricao, Piñones, Río Abajo, and Susúa.

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=10114087
2. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435132
3. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435696

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