Triumfetta semitriloba Jacq.
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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
Malvaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Erect shrub or subshrub, (0.3-)0.5-2 m tall, densely stellate- pubescent to tomentose, becoming glabrate with age. Leaf blades (1.3-)3.3-15.4 x 0.7-11 cm, simple or 3-lobed, usually broadly-ovate or rhombic-ovate to oblong-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic chartaceous, stellate-pubescent to tomentose above and below, the apex acute to acuminate, the base rounded to truncate or broadly cuneate, less often subcordate, the margins irregularly toothed, teeth often glandular, especially near base; petioles 0.8-9.5 cm long; stipules 4-8 mm long, lanceolate. Flowers bisexual produced in narrow, elongate cymes; Peduncles 1-4 mm long; pedicels 2-4 mm long. Sepals green, 4-8 mm long, oblong- lanceolate, the appendages 0.5 - 1mm long; petals yellow, equal to or slightly shorter than speals, linear - elliptic' androgynophore short, with orbicular glands; disk inconspicuous; stamens 15-25; ovary ovoid to subglobose, ca. 1 mm tall, the style 6-8 mm long, the stigma entire to obscurely 3 parted. Fruit (excluding spines) 3-5 mm diam., ovoid to subglobose, glabrous or minutely puberulent, green turning reddish brown at maturity, (2-)3(-4) - locular, the retrorsely hispidulous. Seeds 2-3 mm long, ovoid to pyriform, brown, smooth.
Distribution and Ecology - A weed in disturbed areas. Cruz Bay (A2396), L'Esperance (A2560), along road to Bordeaux (A3125). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; Native to tropical America, reportedly naturalized in Africa and the Pacific.
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Discussion
Common Name: Bur bark