Zapoteca portoricensis (Jacq.) H.M.Hern.
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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
Species Description - Erect shrub 1—2(—3) m tall, many-branched from near the base; bark light brown, smooth; branches cylindrical, smooth, glabrous or puberulous. Leaves 7-15 cm long; pinnae 2-4, opposite; leaflets opposite, 15-30 pairs per pinna, 8-15 x 1.5-2.5 mm, oblong, asymmetric, chartaceous, the apex obtuse or rounded, the base truncate-attenuate, very asymmetrical, the margins ciliate; stipules 5-10 mm long, lanceolate, persistent. Heads obconical, 3-3.5 cm wide, white, on long (3-6 cm) peduncles, solitary or clustered in leaf axils. Flowers 5-merous; calyx 2 mm long, glabrous; corolla 3-4 mm long, light green; the filaments white, to 2 cm long. Legume 7.5-10 x 0.8-1 cm, oblong, flattened, straight or curved, the margins entire, thickened. Seeds 5-6 mm long, nearly elliptic, mottled brown.
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Discussion
Cultivated species: Calliandra haematocephala Hassk. with bright red flowers and Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Jacq.) Griseb. with pinkish flowers are occasionally used as ornamental plants
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Distribution
A common shrub of dry areas, also found in open disturbed areas. Along road to Ajax Peak (A2654), Bordeaux area (A3238). Also on St. Thomas and Tortola; Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Grenada, continental tropical America.
Grenada South America| Puerto Rico South America| West Indies| Jamaica South America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America|