Piper amalago L.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Piperaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Piper amalago L.

  • Description

    Species Description - Erect shrub, 2-3 m tall; stems swollen at nodes, dark, lenticellate. Leaf blades 6-12 x 3.5-7 cm, ovate to oblong-ovate, membranous, glabrous, the apex long-acuminate, the base acute and asymmetrical, the margins entire; petioles slender, pubescent, 0.7-1.7 cm long. Flowers densely arranged in leaf-opposed spikes; bracts ovate; pistil with a broad base and tapering to a narrow apex. Drupe ovoid-conical, tapering to apex, ca. 1.5 mm long.

  • Discussion

    Common name: black wattle.

  • Distribution

    Mostly found in secondary forest understory. Adrian Ruins (A725), Maho Bay (A2106), Salt Pond (GTP29326). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; Mexico, Central America, Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles, and South America.

    South America| West Indies| Central America| México Mexico North America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America|