Miconia laevigata (L.) D.Don
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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
Melastomataceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Erect treelet 1-2 m tall, with many lateral branches along main stem; stems slightly flattened, densely covered with minute stellate hairs when young, becoming glabrous. Leaf blades 11-24 x 5- 10 cm, elliptic to lanceolate, chartaceous, with 5 subparallel veins, sparsely covered with minute, stellate hairs, the apex longacuminate, the base obtuse to nearly rounded, the margins toothed; petioles 1.5-3.5 cm long, stellate-pubescent. Rowers short-pedicellate, in terminal panicles; bracts minute, subulate. Calyx bellshaped, stellate-pubescent, yellowish green; petals white, oblanceolate, 4-4.5 mm long; stamens white, the anthers longer than the filaments, opening by a terminal pore; style white, glabrous, the stigmas capitate. Berry purple, ovoid, 4.5 mm long.
Distribution and Ecology - Common in moist disturbed areas. Road to Bordeaux (A2594), Maho Bay Quarter along Center Line Road (A2406). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; Central America to northern South America, including the West Indies.