Bouchea prismatica (L.) Kuntze
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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
Verbenaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Erect herb 40-60 cm tall; stems somewhat woody at base, obtusely 4-angled, sulcate, glabrous to puberulent. Leaf blades 2.2-8 x 2-5 cm, ovate, membranous, with a weak fetid smell, puberulent, especially when young, the apex obtuse or acute, the base cuneate, the margins serrate to crenate-dentate; petioles 0.8- 3 cm long, puberulent. Rowers nearly sessile, on axillary and terminal racemes 5-25 cm long. Calyx greenish, tubular, puberulent, 5.5-7 mm long, the setae 1-2 mm long; corolla pink to lilac, trumpet-shaped, 12-14 mm long, the tube yellowish; stamens and style included. Fruit cylindrical, 8-9.5 mm long, light brown, splitting into 2 equal mericarps; fruiting calyx covering most of fruit, straw-colored, longitudinally splitting along one side.
Distribution and Ecology - A common weed of open disturbed areas. Lameshur (A2576, A2789). Also on St. Croix; common throughout the West Indies, Mexico, Central America, and Venezuela.