Diagnostic description ⁴

Forsteronia portoricensis Woodson, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 21: 618. 1934.

Fig. 19. A-F

Synonym: Forsteronia corymbosa sensu Britton & P. Wilson

Woody vine, twining, much branched from the base, 7-15 m in length, with abundant creamcolored latex. Stems dark brown, glabrous, cylindrical, lenticellate. Leaves opposite; blades 4-8 × 1.8-3.8 cm, elliptical or broadly elliptical, coriaceous, glabrous, the apex acute, the base obtuse or rounded, the margins entire, slightly undulate, revolute; upper surface dark green, shiny, with a slightly prominent midvein, without glands; lower surface yellowish green, shiny, with a prominent midvein, domatia absent; petioles 5-7 mm long, slightly winged or sulcate; stipules interpetiolar, minute, brown, acicular. Flowers in terminal corymbiform cymes, 3-8 cm wide; pedicels pink, 7-12 mm long, with a pair of minute bracteoles at the base. Calyx cardinal red, glabrous, the sepals ovate, free to the base, 1.5-1.7 mm long, ciliate; corolla cardinal red, infundibuliform, 5-6 mm long, the lobes oblong, as long as or longer than the tube; stamens exserted. Follicles straight, ca. 8 cm long; seeds numerous, with long, silky hairs.

Phenology: Flowering from April to January and fruiting from January to June.

Status: Endemic to Puerto Rico, quite common.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 313; 319; 2957; 5223; 7131; 10827.

Distribution ⁵

Distribution: In moist forests at middle and upper elevations, along the Cordillera Central and the Sierra de Luquillo and in the zone of mogotes.

Public forest: Carite, El Yunque, Guajataca, Guilarte, Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, and Vega.

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=10350685
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=10350684
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=10386124
4. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435081
5. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435662

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