Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

102 FABACEAE SMITHSONUN CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOTANY
Ridgefield (Hodge 2174), South Chiltem (Hodge I468),
Sylvania (Cooper 20, Hodge 1139, 3982), Syndicate (Whitefoord
3562), Wallhouse (Eggers 536).
Hodge and Taylor (1957563) reported Hodge 3384 as used
in a decoction for treatment of gonorrhea but under a
misidentification, D. axillare var. axillare.
Desmodium axillare
Desmodiwn axillare (Swartz) A.P. Candolle, 1825, 2;333.-Schubert,
1963286.
Hedysarum au’llare Swartz, 1788:107.
Stem repent, rooting at nodes; stipules connate; leaves
long-petiolate, terminal petiolule short; loments with 2 large
segments on a distinct stipe.
1. Stems with long, conspicuous pubescence; leaflets acute
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . var. acutifolium
1. Stems with short, inconspicuous pubescence; leaflets
rhombic to orbicular . . . . . . . . . . . . . var. axillare
Desmodium axillare var. acutifolium
Desmodium axillare var. acutifoliwn (Kuntze) Urban, 1905,4:292.&hubert,
1941:83: 1963:287.
Meibomia axillarir var. acutifolia Kuntze. 1891, 1:195.
Stems long-pubescent; leaflets acute.
Central America and scattered in West Indies; reported as
common along road at 900 m on south end of Dominica: above
Pichelin (Wilbur 7608), Lisdara (Hodge s.n., 27 Aug 1937,
Hodge 618).
Desmodiwn axillare var. axillare.
Desmodium axillare var. axillare
Tick trefoil, cacoyer.
Stems short-pubescent; leaflets rounded to obtuse at apex.
Neotropics; weedy along roads in Dominica: Carib Reserve
(Hodge 3232), Deux Branches (Hodge 3005), Grand Bay
(Eggers 537, Ernst 1604), La Chaudiere (Hodge 3689, Pointe
Guignard (Wilbur 7621), South Chiltem (Hodge 3879),
Trafalgar Falls road (Whitefoord 4585), sine loc. (Fishlock 23,
60).
Hodge and Taylor (1957563) reported this species and its
common names as used in making a decoction for treatment of
gonorrhea by Caribs, based on Hodge 3384. That collection is
Desmodium adscendens, qv.
Desmodium incanum
Desmodiwn incanwn A.P. Candolle, 1825,2:332.-Bentham in Martius, 1859,
15:98.4risebach, 1860:186.-Nimlson, 1978b:365.-Howard, 1988,
4:480.
Hedysarwn racernosum Aublet, 1775:774. non D. racemwn A.P. Candolle.
Hedysarwn incanwn Swartz, 1788:107, non Thunberg.
Hedysarwn supinwn Swartz, 1788:106, non Chau ex Villars.
Hedysarwn canwn Gmelin, 1792:1125, nom. illeg. [incl. type of H. racernosum
Aublet].
Hedysarwn racemiferwn Gmelin, 1792:1225, nom. illeg. [incl. type of H.
racernostun Aublet].
Aeschynomene spicata Poiret in Lamarck, 1797, Encycl., 4~452, “Aeschinomene,”
non Desmodiwn spicaiwn Rehder.
Desmodiwn supinwn A.P. Candolle, 1825, 2:332, nom. illeg. [incl. type of
Aeschynomene spicata Poiret].
Meibomia incana (A.P. Candolle) Vail. 1892 [Apr]:l18, nom. illeg. [incl. type
of Hedysarwn racemoswn Aublet].
Meibornia supina Britton in Morong & Britton, 1892 [Dec]:83, nom. illeg.
[mcl. type of Desdwn incanwn A.P. Candolle and Hedysarwn
racernosum Aublet].
Desmodiwn cantun Schinz & Thellung in Schellenberg et al., 1913:371.-
Thellung, 19 13:428.Schubert, 1943:423.-Exell, 1944: 156.sChubert in
Milne-Redhead & Polhill. 1971, Legum. Subfam. Papil. 1:456, nom. illeg.
[incl. type of Desmodiwn incanwn A.P. Candolle].
Suffrutescent, puberulent herb; stipules connate below,
persistent; petioles short, usually 0.5 cm; leaflets variable on the same plant, from
rotund to lanceolate, mostly elliptic, pale beneath, sometimes
mottled above; loments short stipitate, 4-7-johted, the upper
margin straight, the lower deeply undulate.
Pantropical weed; scattered in lowlands of Dominica:
Atkinson (Hodge 3388), Baiac (Whitefoord 546I), Cabrits
(Hodge 3877, Howard I1715), Grand Bay road (Ernst 1602),
Layou mouth (Hodge 628), Lisdara (Hodge 626), Roseau
(Hodge 629, South Chiltern (Hodge 1530) Syndicate (Whitefoord
4441).
Our material is the 3-fOfiOhte broad-leaved typical form.
Adjanohoun etal. (1985:151, pl. 118) reported (asD. canum)
medicinal uses.
Most authors dealing with this taxon for the past 80 years
have attempted to adopt the epithet of the earliest available
name. The Code, however, has three requirements for a correct
epithet; it must not only be part of the earliest available name,
but that name must also be legitimate (Arts. 11.3,45.3, and 67,
Note 1, ICBN). This fact, coupled with the procedures for
handling names with illegitimate “basionyms” of the Note
under Article 72, establishes that D. incanum A.P. Candolle
(1 825) is the earliest available legitimate name for this species
(see Nicolson 1978:365) in Desmodium.
Desmodium procumbens
Desmodkm procwnbens @idler) Hitchcock, 1893:76.-%hubert, 1940.
Hedysarwn procwnbens Miller, 1768.
Hedysarwn spwale Swartz, 1788:107, nom. illeg. [incl. H. procwnbens Miller].
Desmodiwn spirale A.P. Candolle, 1825. 2332, nom. illeg. [incl. H.
procwnbens Miller].
Slender annual herb; stipule free, filiform, persistent; petiole
to 3 cm long, terminal petiolules -1 cm long, leaflets lanceolate
to ovate; loment 2-8-jointed, both margins k equally notched.
Scattered in the tropics; reported for Dominica by V6lez
(1957:lOO) on the basis of a distribution note in Britton and
Wilson (1925, 5194) “Cuba to Trinidad.” Not cited for
Dominica by Schubert (1940), but collections from Martinique