Machaerium lunatum (L.f.) Ducke
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Fabaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Scandent shrub to 15 m long; stems to 12 cm diam., with numerous recurved stipular spines. Leaves imparipinnate;leaflets 5-7, alternate or rarely opposite, 2-7 x 0.5-3 cm, oblong or oblanceolate, chartaceous, glabrous, the apex notched, the base obtuse to rounded, the margins entire; petiolules 2-3 mm long; stipules curved, spinelike, to 1 cm long, persistent on mature stems. Racemes axillary or terminal, few- to many-flowered, 5-15 cm long; bracts minute, persistent. Calyx 3.5-5 mm long, glabrous; corolla pink to pinkish purple, the standard to 8 mm long, notched at apex, the wings falcate, the keel incurved. Legume 2-3 cm wide, flattened, curled with circular outline, indehiscent. Seed 1, nearly kidney-shaped.
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Distribution
Common in coastal swamps bordering mangroves. Coral Bay (A2829). Also on St. Croix and St. Thomas; native to tropical America.
Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America|