Hippocratea volubilis L.
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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
Hippocrateaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Woody vine, climbing, which supports itself on other plants by twining lateral branches and attains 10-15 m in length. Stems green, quadrangular, becoming grayish and cylindrical when mature; branches opposite, twining, developing before the leaves. Leaves opposite; blades 4-17 x 2-8 cm, elliptical or oblong, coriaceous, the apex acute or acuminate, the base obtuse or rounded, sometimes unequal, the margins crenulate or slightly serrate; upper surface shiny, glabrous, with the veins slightly sunken; lower surface pale green, dull, glabrous, with the venation slightly prominent; petioles 3-7 mm long; stipules absent. Flowers numerous, in axillary corymbs. Calyx yellowish green, of 5 rounded sepals, ca. 1 mm long; corolla of 5 yellowish or whitish petals, free, oblanceolate, 2.5-3 mm long, pubescent on the distal portion; stamens 3, the filaments connate into a conical disc, which almost totally surrounds the ovary; ovary superior, tricarpellate, the style one, with a punctiform stigma. Mericarps 3, divergent, flattened, conspicuously veined, 4-8 cm long; seeds few, winged, ca. 4 cm long, the seed-bearing portion elliptical, the wing oblong.
Phenology - Flowering throughout the year and fruiting from October to January.
Conservation Status - Native, very common.
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Common Names
bejuco prieto