Diagnostic description ⁴

Heteropterys purpurea (L.) Kunth in Humb., Bonpl. & Kunth, Nov. Gen. Sp. (quarto ed.) 5: 164. 1821 [1822].

Fig. 121. G-K

Basionym: Banisteria purpurea L.

Woody vine, twining, attainig 3-8 m in length. Stems slender, cylindrical, copper-colored, puberulent, lenticellate, with numerous lateral branches. Leaves opposite, chartaceous, 1.5-2 × 1-1.5 cm, oblong, elliptical, or ovate, the apex obtuse or rounded, sometimes mucronate, the base obtuse or rounded, the margins revolute; upper surface shiny, glabrous or puberulent; lower surface yellowish green, dull, puberulent; petioles 3-10 mm long, puberulent, with a pair of glands in the middle; stipules absent. Inflorescence of axillary racemes; bracts minute, without glands; pedicels 5-6 mm long, slender, ferruginouspubescent; articulated near the base. Calyx of 5 sepals, elliptical or ovate, ca. 3 mm long, appressed-pubescent, 4 of which have a pair of glands at the base of the outer surface. Petals 5, pink, broadly ovate, unguiculate, 4.5-5 mm long, the apex rounded. Mericarps 1.5-3 cm long, with an ascendent dorsal wing.

Phenology: Flowering throughout the year and fruiting from December to March.

Status: Native, very common.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 664; 872; 1033; 2658; 5391; 7009; 7897; 10194; 11472; Britton, N.L. 54; 1272; 1479; 1509; Goll, G.P. 542; Heller, A.A. 478; Sargent, F.H. 5; Shafer, J.A. 2551; Stevenson, J.A. 988; 1385; Underwood, L.M. 477.

Distribution ⁵

Distribution: In dry forests and disturbed areas at lower elevations, usually along the coast. Also on Culebra, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; the United States (Florida), the Antilles, Trinidad, and Venezuela.

Public Forests:Cambalache, Ceiba, Guánica, Guajataca, 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=10351609
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=10361283
3. (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=10361284
4. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435423
5. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435886

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