Tupa portoricensis Vatke

• Title

  Tupa portoricensis Vatke

• Authors

  Nathaniel Lord Britton, Frances W. Horne

• Scientific Name

  Tupa portoricensis Vatke

• Description

  Flora Borinqueña Tupa portoricensis Tupa Tibey-tupa Family Lobeliaceae Lobelia Family Tupa portoricensis Vatke, Linnaea 38: 727. 1874. Lobelia portoricensis Urban, Symbolae Antillanae 1: 453. 1899. Endemic in the mountain forests of Porto Rico, this is one of the largest herbaceous plants of our Flora, similar to its relative, Tupa robusta, also described and illustrated in this work. Its stem is slightly woody, and may reach a height of nearly 2 meters, usually somewhat lower, smooth, or minutely hairy toward the top. The thin, shining, smooth, slender-stalked leaves, are oblong, to elliptic, or elliptic-lanceolate, from 10 to 25 centimeters long, the apex long-pointed, the base narrowed, the margins finely and nearly evenly toothed. The greenish-red flowers form clusters about 20 centimeters long, or shorter which are finely hairy; the flower-stalks, subtended by narrow bracts, and bearing 2 bractlets, are from 2 to 3 centimeters long; the narrow teeth of the calyx are from 7 to 10 millimeters long; the corolla is about 2.5 centimeters long. The globose to obovoid capsule is from 10 to 15 millimeters long; For description of the genus Tupa we refer to our description of Tupa robusta.