SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Volume 51: 1-483 Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands by Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez Department of Botany National Museum of Natural History Washington, DC 2005 ABSTRACT Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. Vines and Climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Volume 51: 483 pages (including 184 figures). The present book constitutes an illustrated field guide to the native, naturalized, or commonly cultivated vines and lianas of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It includes nomenclatural and taxonomic revisions, discussions on the distribution and conservation status, as well as full descriptions and illustrations for the species. A total of 386 species distributed in 64 families and 187 genera are treated. Of these 274 are native, 34 are endemic, 64 have been naturalized and approximately 49 are commonly cultivated in gardens. A new combination of Aristolochia oblongata Jacq. ssp calciformis (Urb.) R.Rankin & Acev.-Rodr. is made. KEY WORDS: vines, lianas, climbing plants, scandent plants, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, flora, Caribbean, Greater Puerto Rico, Greater Antilles, West Indies. RESUMEN Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. Vines and Climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Volume 51: 483 pages (including 184 figures). La presente obra constituye una guía para los bejucos y plantas trepadoras, nativas, naturalizadas o comúnmente cultivadas que se encuentran en Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. En ésta se han actualizado la nomenclatura y taxonomía y se incluyen datos de la distribución y estado de conservación de las especies. Cada especie es descrita e ilustrada. En total se tratan 386 especies, distribuidas en 64 familias y 187 géneros. De éstas, 274 son nativas, 34 son endémicas, 64 son naturalizadas y alrededor de 49 son comúnmente cultivadas en nuestros jardines. La nueva combinación Aristolochia oblongata Jacq. ssp calciformis (Urb.) R.Rankin & Acev.- Rodr. es efectuada. PALABRAS CLAVES: bejucos, lianas, plantas trepadoras, plantas sarmentosas, Puerto Rico, Islas Vírgenes, flora, Caribe, Macro Puerto Rico, Antillas Mayores, Indias Occidentales. DATE OF PUBLICATION: February 2005 Cover Design by Alice Tangerini based on an illustration of Margravia rectiflora and M. sintenisii by Bobby Angell. Illustrations prepared and copyrighted © by Bobbi Angell, 2003. Translated from Spanish into English by Duane Kolterman, 2004. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium (ISSN 0097-1618) Department of Botany, MRC 166, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Contributions U.S. National Herbarium, Department of Botany MRC 166, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48—1984. Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium was first published in 1890 by The United States Department of Agriculture. From July 1, 1902 forward it was published as a Bulletin of the United States National Museum. The series was discontinued after volume 38, 1974, and has been revived with volume 39, as a venue for publishing longer taxonomic papers, checklists, floras, and monographs, produced by staff and associates at the U.S. National Herbarium. It is externally peer reviewed, and published at irregular intervals. Subscriptions and other correspondence should be addressed to CUSNH, Department of Botany, MRC 166, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA. e-mail: [email protected]. The present issue is available for free while supplies last. To the future generation of Caribbean botanists PREFACE More than 15 years have passed since the publication of Los Bejucos de Puerto Rico Vol. 1., the precursor to the present edition. The original intention had been to prepare a comprehensive guide to the native and naturalized climbing plants in Puerto Rico. This task was interrupted, however, following my departure to pursue graduate studies in the area of systematic botany. Persuaded by Dr. Ariel E. Lugo, I decided to publish what at that time constituted the manuscript, and was therefore called the first volume in order to indicate its partial or incomplete character. The idea of completing the task survived various projects that required my full dedication. Having finished them, I have found the time necessary to complete this long-awaited work. Nevertheless, this has not required the preparation of a second volume, but rather a total revision, in keeping with current taxonomy, that includes all the species of climbing plants of Puerto Rico. At the same time, it has been expanded to include the species found in the Virgin Islands, a natural appendage to the Puerto Rican biota. As a result, the title of the present work reflects the botanical and geographical diversity represented here. It also contains new illustrations more in keeping with its professional character. Although the title “Climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands” might seem more appropriate for this book, its present title maintains a clearer connection with its precursor. Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez Washington, DC December, 2002 The present work is a translation with corrections of the book Bejucos y plantas trepadoras de Puerto Rico e Islas Vírgenes. Most corrections deal with formatting, some with spelling, and very few with content. The major change involving content is the removal of Sabicea sp. a (Rubiaceae) as its record in Puerto Rico was based on sterile collections of Tetrapterys inaequalis. The removal of this species reduces the total number of vine species in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands from 386 to 385. Bibliographical citations for the accepted names of taxa have been added in order to facilitate literature searches, and a few references have been added. Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez Washington, DC September, 2004 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 7 General Characteristics ...................................................................................................................... 7 Stem Morphology ............................................................................................................................... 7 Climbing and Attachment Mechanisms .......................................................................................... 11 Diversity and Distribution ............................................................................................................... 13 Methods ............................................................................................................................................. 15 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................ 15 GENERAL REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 17 SYSTEMATIC TREATMENT .............................................................................................................. 21 Key to the Divisions ......................................................................................................................... 21 Pteridophytes ........................................................................................................................... 21 Dicotyledons ............................................................................................................................ 41 Monocotyledons ..................................................................................................................... 403 COLLECTIONS EXAMINED ............................................................................................................447 ILLUSTRATIONS VOUCHERS ......................................................................................................... 456 GLOSSARY .........................................................................................................................................465 INDEX TO SCIENTIFIC NAMES .....................................................................................................470 INDEX TO VERNACULAR NAMES ................................................................................................481 Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 7 Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Pedro Acevedo-Rodriguez1 INTRODUCTION to 40% of the plant species present in the GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS ecosystem (Jacobs, 1988), so that some of these forests are known locally as liana forests. Vines can be defined as climbing plants that are rooted in the soil and whose stems are Despite the ecological importance and the incapable of maintaining themselves erect, so that great number of species of climbing plants, they they need external support. Although the term have received relatively little attention on the part vine is used to describe any herbaceous or woody of ecologists and forest engineers. The objective climber, it usually denotes an herbaceous climber of