Diagnostic description ³

Heteropterys wydleriana A. Juss., Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. Sér. 2. 13: 275. 1840.

Fig. 121. L-S

Synonyms: Banisteria wydleriana (A. Juss.) C.B. Robinson

Heteropterys bellonis Urb.

Woody vine, twining, attainig 10-15 m in length. Stems cylindrical, ferruginous-pubescent when young, attaining 5 cm in diameter, the bark grayish. Leaves opposite, coriaceous, 6.5-15 × 3.6-7 cm, oblong or elliptical, the apex acute or obtuse and sometimes mucronate, the base obtuse or rounded; upper surface dark green, slightly shiny, puberulent, the midvein ferruginous-pubescent; lower surface densely ferruginous-sericeoustomentose, the venation prominent; petioles ca. 1 cm long, with a pair of glands at the middle, ferruginous-pubescent. Inflorescences of axillary dichasial cymes; bracts minute, triangular; pedicels 9-11 mm long, ferruginous-strigose, articulated in the middle. Calyx ferruginousstrigose, the sepals 5, triangular, 3-4 mm long, four of them with a pair of glands at the base of the outer surface. Petals 5, yellow, oblong, unguiculate, ca. 4 mm long. Mericarps (1-)3, ferruginous-tomentose, 4-5 cm long, with a distal dorsal wing, ascendent.

Phenology: Flowering from September to January and fruiting in January and February.

Status: Endemic to Puerto Rico, locally common.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 2211; 4723; 4793; 7193; 7708; 7794; Breckon, G. 4219; Britton, N.L. 4201; Sintenis, P. 192.

Distribution ⁴

Distribution: In secondary and mature forests in the zone of mogotes and serpentine.

Public Forests: Maricao, 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=10351611
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=10351610
3. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435424
4. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435887

More Info