Barbieria pinnata (Pers.) Baill.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 51: 1-483.

  • Family

    Fabaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Barbieria pinnata (Pers.) Baill.

  • Description

    Description - Woody vine or clambering shrub, twining, attaining 4-10 m in length. Stems slender, much branched, striate, hirsute, glabrescent. copper-colored, with some whitish lenticels. Leaves alternate, imparipinnate; leaflets 11-21, chartaceous. oblong, 2-5.5 x 1.2-2.2 cm, the apex rounded and mucronate, the base rounded or obtuse, the margins entire, ciliate; upper surface pale green, dull, with inconspicuous venation; lower surface green, silky or whitish, pubescent, with the midvein prominent, yellowish, covered with minute hairs; petiolules 1-2 mm long, ferruginous-pubescent; petioles 1-4 cm long, pilose; rachis pilose, with a pair of stipels at the base of each pair of leaflets; stipels linear, 3-5 mm long; stipules lanceolate, 5-9 mm long, pubescent, persistent. Inflorescences of axillary racemes of few distal (lowers, 4- 16 cm long; bracts lanceolate, pubescent, forming an involucre at the base of the calyx. Calyx tubular, reddish, striate, 2.5-3.5 cm long, with five subulate sepals, acuminate, 0.8-1 cm long, the ventral sepals slightly longer than the lateral ones; corolla red or red-orange, the standard oblong-oblanceolate, unguiculate, 5-6 cm long, the wings oblong, 9-13 mm long, the keel elliptic-oblong, 17-23 mm long; stamens 10, staminal column white, the anthers white; ovary superior, linear, 8-11 mm long, white-pubescent. Legume subsessile, oblong, flattened, laterally compressed between the seeds, 5-7 x 0.5-0.6 cm, pubescent, with the margins sinuate and the calyx persistent at the base. Seeds 4-9 per fruit, dark brown or black, oblong, 4-6 mm long.

    Phenology - Collected in flower from November to January and in fruit from January to May.

    Conservation Status - Native, not very common.

  • Common Names

    enredadera