Kallstroemia pubescens (G.Don) Dandy
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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
Zygophyllaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Prostrate herb to 50 cm long, many-branched from a subwoody taproot; stems reddish- or pinkish-tinged, cylindrical, striate, pubescent. Leaflets opposite, 3 pairs, the distal leaflets much large than the basal ones, 0.5-2.2 x 0.4-1.2 cm, inequilateral, oblongoblanceolate, chartaceous, sparsely appressed-pubescent to glabrescent, the apex obtuse, the base asymmetrical, cuneate-rounded, the margins entire, ciliate; petioles 0.5-1 cm long, appressedpubescent; stipules subulate, 4 mm long, ciliate. Flowers solitary, axillary; peduncles 1-2.5 cm long. Sepals green, lanceolate, 4-5 mm long, strigose; petals 5-6 mm long, pale yellow, with a bright yellow base, obovate, spreading; filaments yellowish, ascending, much shorter than the petals; ovary green, turbinate-ovoid, strigillose, the style conical. Schizocarp conical, 6-6.5 mm long, 10- lobed; mericarps tuberculate, strigillose, indehiscent.
Distribution and Ecology - A common roadside weed of open, disturbed, dry areas. Fish Bay (A2814, A2381). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; Florida, Mexico to northern South America including the West Indies.
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Discussion
Cultivated families: The families Bixaceae and Punicaceae are represented on St. John by a few cultivated individuals of Bixa orellana L. and Punica granatum L., respectively. As far as I am aware, these species are not naturalized on the island