Diagnostic description ⁴

Matelea maritima (Jacq.) Woodson, Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 28: 222. 1941.

Fig. 29. A-D

Basionym: Asclepias maritima Jacq.

Synonym: Ibatia maritima (Jacq.) Decne.

Slightly woody vine, twining, 5-7 m in length, with abundant milky latex. Stems densely pubescent and sulcate when young, whitish and corky when mature, 4 mm or more in diameter. Leaves opposite; blades 4-10.5 × 3-7.5 cm, ovate, chartaceous, the apex acute or acuminate, the base cordiform, the margins entire; upper surface dull, pubescent, with 2 (3-7) acicular glands in the area adjacent to the petiole; lower surface pale, densely pubescent, the venation yellowish; petioles cylindrical, densely pubescent, 2-7 cm long. Flowers few, in small axillary cymes. Calyx green, rotate, ca. 2 mm in diameter, the sepals ovate or lanceolate, pubescent; corolla rotate, greenish, 4-6 mm in diameter, the petals ovate, not imbricate; corona yellowish green, with short and rounded lobes. Follicles ovoid-fusiform, green, 5-8 × 3.5-4.5 cm, pubescent, verrocose; seeds numerous, brown, with long, white, silky hairs.

Phenology: Flowering from October to November and fruiting from December to March.

Status: Native, very common.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 652; 903; 1034; 2737; 4076; 4674; Britton, N.L. 1641; 1932; Goll, G.P. 750; Proctor, G.R. 46582; Shafer, J.A. 2657; Sintenis, P. 2174; 3208.

Distribution ⁵

Distribution: In thickets and coastal forests. Also on Culebra, Desecheo, Mona, Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; Cuba, Hispaniola, the Lesser Antilles, and from Panama to northern South America.

Public forest: Guánica, Mona, Piñones, and Susúa.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Michael Wolf, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Matelea_maritima_02.jpg
2. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10348768
3. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10350730
4. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435108
5. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435680

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