Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

NUMBER 77 FABACEAE 103
and Guadeloupe are at US. Expected on
collections yet seen.
Desmodium scorpiurus
Desmodiwn scorpiwus (Swartz) hvaux, 1813:122
Hedysarwn scorpiwus Swartz, 1788:107.
Meibomia scorpiwus (Swartz) Kuntze, 1891, 1:198.
Dominica, but no
Subshrub with prostrate to spreading branches; stipules
semicordate-acumi&te, c0.5 cm long, persistent; petiole to 2
cm long, terminal petiolule c1 cm long; leaflets elliptic,
rounded at both ends; pedicels c1 cm long; loment f sessile,
margins equally notched into 4-7 joints that are about twice as
long as broad.
Neotropical weed, occasional in Dominica: Cabrit Swamp
(Whitefoord 4048), Roseau (Ernst 2152).
Desmodium tortuosum
Desmcdium tortwswn (Swartz) A.P. Candolle, 1825,2:332.
Hedysarwn pwpwcwn Miller, 1768.
Hedysarwn tortwswn Swam, 1788:107.
Meibomia toriuosa (Swartz) Kuntze, 1891. 1:198.
Meibomia pwpwea (Mdler) Vail in Small, 1903:639.
Desmodiwnpwpwewn (Miller) Fawcett & Rendle, 1920,4(2), non Hooker &
Amoit
Erect, branched herb, stipules deciduous, auriculate at base;
petioles long, the terminal petiolule typically >1 cm; leaflets
inconspicuously puberulent below, rounded, pedicels fiiiform,
>1 cm long; loment f sessile, 3-6-jointed, often much twisted,
both margins deeply undulate.
Florida into northern South America and in A€rica; western
lowlands of Dominica: Grand Savanne (Ernst 2124), lower
Layou valley (Ernst 1505).
Desmodium triflorum
Desmodiwn triflorwn (Linnaeus) A.P. Candolle, 1825,2:334.
Hedysarwn trijlorwn Linnaeus. 1753:749.
Sagoiia trijlora (Linnaeus) Duchassaing & Walpers, 1850:738.
Meibomia iriflora (Linnaeus) Kuntze, 1891. 1:197.
Diffuse or prostrate, pubescent herbs; stipules lanceolate,
persistent; petioles short, -1 cm; leaflets small, c1 cm long,
obovate; loment sessile with upper margin straight and lower
margin crenate, joints 3-6.
Pantropical; roadside weed in Dominica in dry places: Grand
Savanne (Ernst 2127), La Plaine (Whitefoord 5383, Morne
[Bruce in Roseau?] (Fairchild 2782), Scotts Head (Whitefoord
5130).
Adjanohoun et al. (1985151, pl. 118) reported medicinal
uses.
Dioclea mollicoma Ducke, 1947: 19.
Dwclea Kunth (Faboid)
Dwclea mollicoma
Dioclea reflexa sensu Urban, 1900, 1:473, as to Dominican specimen, non J.
Hooker.
Woody vine; stipules peltate, acute; leaflets 3, large, 8-16
cm x 5-10 cm, thinly pilose; inflorescence racemose and
nodose; bracts linear-lanceolate, reflexed, 1.5-2 cm long,
deciduous; calyx 4-lobed, 1.5 cm long, silky; petals f equal,
standard reddish violet with yellow spot at base; vexillary
stamen f united; pod f compressed, the upper margin
thickened, 9-13 cm x 4-6 cm, l-4-seeded; seeds 2-3 cm
long, rounded.
Apparently scattered in tropics; only once collected on
Dominica: Layou (“Laiod7) River Flats (Rmge s.n., 18 Jun
1888 at K (det. R.H. Maxwell, 1968)).
Sometimes cultivated for its rotenone concentration.
Dussia Krug & Urban ex Taubert (Faboid)
Dussia martinicensis
Dwsia martinicensis Krug & Urban ex Taubert in Ehgler & Prantl. 1892,
III(3): 193.-Rudd, 1963255.
Pommier.
Immense butuessed tree with smooth, tan bark and white
interior; stipules and stipels lacking; leaflets 7-13,4-15 cm x
3-8 cm, ovate, glabrous above, crisped-pubescent below;
inflorescence f terminal, racemose; calyx f oblique, 5-toothed;
petals whitish, standard pubescent on back, green at center
surrounded by pink; stamens 10, 9 united at base; pods
l-Zseeded, yellowish, usually persisting on tree after dropping
the large (2.5-1.5 cm x 1.5-2 cm) red-skinned green
seeds.
Several Lesser Antilles and northeastern Venezuela; a
common (but hard to collect) tree in interior rain forests: Deux
Branches (Ernst 1760, Nicolson 2014), upper Layou Valley at
460 m (Nicolson 4182), Syndicate Estate (DHN!).
Flowers in late June. Seeds dropped in late May. Parrots (and
agouti?) gnaw the thin, red seed cover and leave the green
seeds.
Chromosomes were counted as n = 14 on the Ernst
collection.
Entada Adanson (Mimosoid)
High climbing vines with bipinnate leaves; flowers polygamous
in spiciform racemes; calyx 5-toothed; petals equal;
stamens 10, distinct, slightly exserted, the anther with a
terminal gland; pod very large, flattened, transversely jointed
within the continuous margins, the joints woody separating
from each other and leaving the persistent border (replum);
seeds large, orbicular.
Entudu gigus (Linnaeus) Fawcett & Rendle might be found
on Dominica. It has an enormous, woody fruit and only 1-2
pairs of pinnae, and a O-l-branched inflorescence. The above
species have coriaceous pods, 2-more pairs of pinnae, and
much -branc hed inflorescences.