Desmanthus
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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
Mimosaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Genus Description - Erect or scandent herbs or subshrubs. Leaves twice-pinnate; pinnae opposite, the leaflets opposite; rachis canaliculate, with nectariferous glands between lower pair of pinnae, distally ending in minute setae; stipules subulate, persistent. Flowers bisexual, unisexual (staminate), or sterile, in axillary, long-pedunculate globose heads; bracts subulate, strongly 1-nerved; calyx bell-shaped, with 5 teeth at apex; corolla white or greenish, of 5 petals, these free, united at base or lacking; stamens 10 or 5, exserted, the filaments free; ovary subsessile, with several ovules, the style filiform, dilated at apex, the stigma truncate, concave, or punctiform. Legume linear, flattened, straight or curved, dehiscent; seeds transverse, ovate.
Distribution and Ecology - A genus of 24 species native to the neotropics