Diagnostic description ⁵

Thunbergia fragrans Roxb., Pl. Coromandel. 1: 47. 1796.

Fig. 14. A-F

Synonym: Thunbergia volubilis Pers.

Herbaceous vine, twining, 2-3 m in length. Stems cylindrical, striate, slender, puberulous. Leaves opposite; blades 6.5-11 × 1.8-6 cm, ovate to lanceolate, chartaceous, the apex acute, the base truncate or subcordiform; margins undulate and ciliate; upper surface dark green, glabrous or somewhat scabrous; lower surface pale green, dull, puberulous, with prominent venation; petiole 2-3.5 cm long, slender, pubescent, sulcate, with the base somewhat dilated. Flowers axillary, solitary or in pairs; pedicels pubescent, 5-7 cm long, striate; bracts green, membranaceous, ovate, pubescent, 1.6-2 cm long, covering the calyx. Calyx green, of 15-20 sepals, lanceolate, 3-5 mm long; corolla white, infundibuliform, with 5 lobes, the tube 2.5-4 cm long, narrow at the base, yellow inside, the limb 4-5 cm in diameter. Capsules 1-2.5 cm long, depressed-globose at the base, the upper half in the form of a beak, dehiscent in two halves; seeds 4, globose, ca. 5 mm in diameter, pubescent, with a depression at the base.

Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout the year.

Status:Exotic, common, naturalized in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 171; 529; 1928; 4665; 5329; 7003; 9353; Boom, B. 9891; 9945; Goll, G.P. 774; Sintenis, P. 2673; Stevenson, J.A. 2154.

Distribution ⁶

Distribution: In areas of disturbed vegetation throughout Puerto Rico. Also on Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Tortola. Native to India and Sri Lanka, but naturalized in the tropics.

Public forest: Maricao, Piñones, Río Abajo, and Tortuguero.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Mauricio Mercadante, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6733931501_6cc07b3b72_o.jpg
2. (c) Forest & Kim Starr, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/54868.jpg
3. (c) Forest & Kim Starr, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/54882.jpg
4. (c) "<a href=""http://nt.ars-grin.gov/"">ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory</a>. Ecuador, Pasaje.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=thfr2_004_ahp.tif
5. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435062
6. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435652

More Info

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