Cryptostegia madagascariensis Bojer ex Decne.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 51: 1-483.
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Family
Apocynaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Twining woody vine or scandent shrub, 6-8 m in length, with abundant milky latex. Stems cylindrical, glabrous, reddish brown, with few lenticels. Leaves opposite; blades 4-10 x 2-4.7 cm, elliptical, oblong, or ovate, coriaceous, glabrous, the apex short-acuminate, obtuse, or rounded, the base obtuse to rounded, short-decurrent on the petiole, without glands at the union with the petiole, the margins entire; venation pinnate, with 14-16 pairs of secondary veins; upper surface dull; lower surface pale, with obscure venation; petioles glabrous. 0.0-1.5 cm long; stipules minute, intrapetiolar. Flowers few or many in pedunculate cymes; bracts foliaceous, lanceolate, ca. 5 mm long. Calyx green, campanulate, the sepals ovate, pubescent, 0.5-1.5 cm long; corolla infundibuliform, 3-6 cm long, violet, the tube darker inside, the lobes abaxially whitish in the overlapping portion; corona violet, with subulate, simple lobes, ca. 1 cm long. Follicles 2, divergent, brown when mature, 5.8-13 cm long, winged or keeled, woody; seeds reddish brown, ovate-lanceolate, ca. 3 mm long, with long, cream-colored, silky hairs.
Phenology - Collected in flower in August and from December to February and in fruit in August.
Conservation Status - Exotic, common, cultivated and naturalized in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
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Discussion
This species was treated erroneously for the flora of St. John (Acevedo-Rodriguez, 1 996) under the name of Cryptostegia grandiflora R.Br.
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Common Names
rubber vine