Scaevola plumieri (L.) Vahl
-
Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
-
Family
Goodeniaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Description
Species Description - Weak shrub to 1 m tall, many-branched from base, the lower branches decumbent; branches cylindrical to slightly angular, glabrous, becoming square and hollow with age, with numerous leaf scars. Leaves usually clustered at ends of branches; blades 5-8 x 2-5 cm, obovate or oblanceolate, fleshy, glabrous, the apex rounded, the base tapering into a semiclasping base, the margins entire. Flowers in axillary cymes; hypanthium cup-shaped, calyx annular or 5 -lobed, 1-1.5 mm long, glabrous; corolla 5- lobbed, 1.5 -2cm long, the tube densely pubescent within, the lobes lanceolate, white; stamens much shorter than the mbe; ovary ovoid the style as long as the floral tube, slightly arched. Drupe bluish black, ovoid to globose, glabrous, 6-8 mm diam, 1-seeded.
Distribution and Ecology - An uncommon shrub found along sandy coasts. Hansen Bay (A4222). Also on Anegada, St. Croix, and Tortola; widespread on tropical sandy coasts.