Diagnostic description ²

Dioscorea trifida L. f., Suppl. Pl. 427.1781.

Fig. 176. J-L

Non-woody vine, twining, attainig several meters in length. Stems glabrous or puberulent, obtusely quadrangular, with winged projections along the borders. Leaves alternate, palmate (5-lobate), 9-11-veined, 15-21 × 15-25 cm, membranaceous, the lobes ovate-lanceolate, acuminate at the apex, the base cordiform; upper surface glabrous, the veins slightly prominent; lower surface puberulent along the prominent veins; petioles 5-19 cm long, with 4 longitudinal wings, swollen at the base. Inflorescences axillary; the staminate ones paniculate; the pistillate ones in racemes. Staminate flowers in lateral cymes, sessile, perianth cream-colored, 1.5-6 mm long, the stamens 6; pistillate flowers solitary, hypanthium pubescent, the tepals ca. 2.5 mm long. Capsules oblong-elliptical in outline, 2.5-3.4 cm long by 1.5 cm wide.

Phenology: Unknown.

Status: Exotic, apparently naturalized, uncommon.

Selected Specimens Examined: Sargent, F.H. 500.

Distribution ³

Distribution: According to Britton and Wilson (1924) this species grows spontaneously in Puerto Rico in areas where it was formerly cultivated; I know collections only from the Agricultural Experiment Station. Also throughout the Antilles and South America.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) User:Mvh57, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dioscorea_trifida_crop.jpg
2. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435597
3. (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435996

More Info