Varronia polycephala (Common Vines & Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands)

Varronia polycephala

Diagnostic description ⁴

Cordia polycephala (Lam.) I.M. Johnst., J. Arnold Arbor. 16: 33. 1935.

Fig. 49. G-L

Basionym: Varronia polycephala Lam.

Synonym: Varronia corymbosa (L.)Desv.

Woody shrub, clambering, up to 5 m in length. Stems pubescent when young, cylindrical, attaining 1.5 cm in diameter. Leaves alternate; blades 4-15 × 2-5.5 cm, ovate, lanceolate, or elliptical, coriaceous, the apex acute or acuminate, the base obtuse or rounded, sometimes unequal, the margins serrate; upper surface scabrous, the venation sunken; lower surface pale green, more or less pubescent, with prominent reticulate venation; petioles pubescent, 5-10 mm long. Flowers numerous, sessile, arranged in terminal or axillary paniculate or corymbose heads. Calyx yellowish green, crateriform, pubescent, 2.5-3 mm long; corolla white, campanulate, 4-5 mm long, the lobes much shorter than the tube, the tube pubescent inside; stamens and stigmas inserted. Drupe red, globose, 3-4 mm in diameter, completely covered by the accrescent calyx.

Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout the year, particularly in June and July.

Status: Native, very common.

Commentary: Cordia wagnerorum Howard was originally described as a clambering shrub; nevertheless, the clambering habit seems to be the exception to the rule, since I have only observed this species as an erect shrub. For this reason, this species has been excluded from the present work.

Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 96; 822; 2059; 3054; 3834; 5174; 10465; 10481; 11219; 11477.

Distribution ⁵

Distribution: In weedy areas and along paths, at lower and middle elevations. Also on Vieques, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; Hispaniola, the Lesser Antilles, and northern South America.

Public forest: Cambalache, Carite, Ceiba, El Yunque, Guajataca, Guánica, Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, Toro Negro, and Tortuguero.

Sources and Credits

(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=10350847
(c) Daniel H. Janzen. Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.boldsystems.org/pics/_w300/MHPAC/BioBot00652-BB003358+1232078314.JPG
(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=10385877
(c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435182
(c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435726

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