Daphnopsis americana subsp. caribaea (Mill.) J.Johnst.
-
Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
-
Family
Thymelaeaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Description
Species Description - Shrub or small tree 3-6 m tall; bark dark gray, smooth, strongly bitter; twigs angled, puberulent. Leaves alternate; blades 5-16(-21) X 2.2-5(-7) cm, elliptic to nearly lanceolate, chartaceous, glabrous, the apex acute, acuminate, or obtuse, the base attenuate, the margins entire; petioles 4-14 mm long. Flowers apetalous, in unisexual, umbelliform, bifurcated inflorescences axes 4-24 mm long in staminate inflorescences and 3-10 mm long in pistillate inflorescences. Staminate flowers 10-75 per inflorescence; pedicels ca. 0.5 mm long; calyx tube obconical, 3-4.5 mm long, the lobes 1-2.5 mm long, reflexed; stamens 8, the lower 4 adnate to the hypanthium throat, the upper series with each stamen adnate to a hypanthium lobe, the anthers nearly sessile; nectary disk and pistillode present. Pistillate flower 10-25 Per inflorescence; pedicels l-1.5(-3) mm long; staminodes 8, papilliform; ovary ellipsoid, green, the stigma nearly sessile, minutely pubescent. Drupe ellipsoid to nearly ovoid, 6-8 mm long,turning from green to white, crowned by the persistent stigma. Seeds ovoid, 4-6 mm long.
Distribution and Ecology - A common shrub of dry to moist forests. Center Line road (A2487), Cinnamon Bay (M17006). Also on Jost van Dyke,St. Croix, and St.Thomas; Puerto Rico, Central America to norther South america, and the Lesser Antilles.