Hippocratea volubilis
Content
Description
Liana to 20m long. Petiole 5-16 mm long; blades when dried brownish above, or greyish to olivaceous, then discolorous, elliptic, sometimes narrowly so, or oblong, or (ob)ovate, 3-14 x 2-6 cm, margins undulate to serrate or crenate, apex acute, acuminate or somewhat cuspidate, base rounded to acute, often decurrent into the petiole; primary vein prominulous or prominent above, prominent below, secondary veins 5-8 per side, prominulous on both surfaces, tertiary veins reticulate, inconspicuous. Inflorescence brown- to orange-puberulous, 1-6 x 2.5-9 cm; peduncles 1-5 cm long; bracts ovate, acute, 1-1.5 mm long; pedicels 1-4 mm long; bracteoles 0.5 mm long, caducous. Flowers 4-8 mm diam.; sepals tomentellous, broadly ovate or deltoid, 0.5-1.2 x 0.6-1.4 mm, erose or ciliolate; petals oblong or elliptic, greenish, creamish or yellow, 4 x 2.6 mm, densely puberulous on both surfaces, a transverse line of hairs within on the upper half; disk to 3 mm diam., to 1.7 mm high, sometimes expanded at base, puberulous; filaments ligulate, to 1.3 mm long, often contiguous at base, anthers 0.3-0.5 x 0.5-0.7 mm; ovary ca. 1 mm diam., style to 1.3 mm long, stigmas inconspicuous. Receptacle to 4 mm diam.Mericarps obovate, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 4-8 x 1.5-3 cm, rounded or emarginate at apex, pericarp ca. 0.2 mm thickdensely and finely striate without, smooth within; seeds 3-6.5 cm long, 1-2.5(-7) mm broad, embryoniferous part of seed 13-25 x 4-7 mm, wing 20-40 x 10-15(-25) mm.
Distribution
Central Mexico present, Guianas present, Missiones present, N Argentina present, S Florida present, SE Brazil present, Southern America: Bolivia (Bolivia present); Paraguay (Paraguay present), northern S America present
From Central Mexico and S Florida throughout the West Indies and Central America, northern S America to Bolivia, Paraguay, N Argentina (Missiones) and SE Brazil (Santa Catharina); over 200 collections studied, 120 from the Guianas (GU: 30; SU: 50; FG: 40).