Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

NUMBER 77 LENTIBUIARIACEAE-LOBELJACEAE 129
(Hodge 823), Mome Trois Pitons (Hodge 824), Pont Casse
(Ernst 1009,Nicolson 1807, Stern & Wasshausen 2559, Wilbur
7723, 7770), Sylvania (Stehle 6321).
Uhicularia pusilla
Utriculoria pusilla Vahl, 1804, hum., 1 :202.-Femandez-Perez,1964:63.
Terrestrial scapose herb to 12 cm; stolons and portions of
“leaves” decurrent on ground, bearing utricles 0.5 mm in
diameter; “leaves” ligulate or linear; bracts peltate; flowers
yellow; capsule globoid, 1.8 mm long.
Neotropics; in Dominica in wet meadows and ditches,
550-600 m: Castle Bruce (Hodge 1239), Pont Casse (Ernst
2089, Webster 13475), Sylvania (Hodge 822, 3846, Knowlton
s.n.).
LOBELIACEAE
(by L. Skog)
These irregularly flowered genera are sometimes included in
the Campanulaceae.
1. Corolla tube cleft to base above; inflorescence a terminal
raceme (except flowers solitary and axillary in Lobelia
Lobelia
kraussii) ......................
1. Corolla tube not cleft to base; inflorescence a single
axillary flower.
2. Leaves glabrous, petiolate, bases obtuse to rounded,
corolla 2.5-3.0 cm long, red; stamens not epipetalous;
fruit indehiscent ............. Centropogon
2. Leaves pubescent, k sessile, bases tapered; corolla
10-15 cm long, white; stamens epipetalous, attached
near apex of corolla tube; fruit dehiscent ........
....................... Hippobroma
The genera of bbeliaceae, even in Dominica, are heterogeneous
and require study of technical characters. The species are
easy to recognize by superficial characters. The following key
is to species.
1. Flowers solitary, axillary.
2. Flowers white ......... Hippobroma longifora
2. Flowers red (or yellow).
3. Leaves ovate, rounded at base ............
.............. Centropogon berterianus
3. Leaves lanceolate, acute at base ...........
................... Lobelia kraussii
1. Flowers many, in terminal racemes.
4. Flowers blue; leaves ovate, to 3 cm long ........
................... Lobelia cliffortiana
4. Flowers greenish white-yellow; leaves lanceolate, >10
cm long.
5. Bracts linear, to 0.1 mm wide, shorter than pedicels;
all 5 anthers tufted ........ Lobelk cirsiifolia
5. Bracts lanceolate, to 0.3 mm wide, longer than
pedicels; upper anthers glabrous and longer than
lower tufted anthers .........
Lobelia strich
Centropogon Presl
Centropogon berterianus
Centropogon berterianus (Sprengel) A.L. Candolle in A.P. Candolle, 1839,
7:345.
Lobelia berteriana Sprengel, 1825, 1:712.
Siphocampylus berterianus (Sprengel) G. Don, 1834,3:703.
Weak, succulent herbs with milky sap; leaves k cordate;
flowers axillary, solitary; calyx lobes ~0.5 cm long; corolla
bright red, 2.5-3.0 cm long; staminal column included or f
exserted; lower 2 anthers penicillate; fruit fleshy.
Lesser Antilles; in Dominica in rainforest clearings, -750 m:
Freshwater Lake (Ernst 2183, Petite Macoucheri (Webster
13554), Roseau River (Eggers 602), sine loc. (Eggers 1007).
Easily confused with Lobelia kraussii, which has lanceolate
leaves acute at base while this has ovate leaves with rounded
bases.
Hippobroma G. Don
Hippobroma long lflora
Hippobroma longifora (Linnaeus) G. Don, 1834,3:717.-Adams, 1972:737.
Lobelia longifora Linnaeus, 1753:930.
Isdoma Iongiflora (Linnaeus) Presl, 1836:42.
Lourentia longifora (Linnaeus) Petermann, 1845:444.-Wimmer in Engler.
1953, IV.276 (Heft 107):405.
Pipe-shank, pipe-zombi.
Pubescent herbs with poisonous milky sap; leaves oblanceolate,
irregularly toothed; flowers axillary, solitary, white,
10-15 cm long; fruit a capsule.
West Indies, Central and tropical South America; in
Dominica on road banks and wet clearings from near sea level
to 800 m: Anse Du Me (Wilbur 8042), Carib Reserve (Stehle
6433), Clarke Hall (Ernst 1153,1171), Hatton Garden (Hodge
2944), Marigot (Hodge 785), Petite Soufrihre Bay (Nicolson
1985).
Chopped leaves are used as a poultice (Hodge and Taylor,
1957:614). Adjanohoun et al. (1985:131, pl. 98) reported a
medicinal usage.
Lobelia Linnaeus
Lobelia cardinalis Linnaeus was collected (Duss 505 at NY)
from “dans le haut de la vallk de Roseau B la Dominique” in
August 1884. This is the only record of this North America
mainland species I have seen from the West Indies and it is
presumed to come from cultivation. It differs from native
Dominican species by its red flowers in terminal racemes.
Lobelia persicifolia Lamarck of Guadeloupe is often cited
for Dominica. This species differs from L. kraussii in having