Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

210 SOJANACEAe SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOTANY
Cestrum megalophyllum
Cestrwn megolophyllwn Dunal in A.P. Candolle, 1852, 13(1):638.--0. Schulz
in Urban, 1909,6:274.-Fm~ey, 1935:312.
Cestrwn macrophyllum sensu Grisebach, 1862:443, in part, non Ventenat.
Cafe marron, bob cabrit.
Shrub or tree to 8 m, mn glabrescent; leaves elliptic or
obovate, to 30 cm long, veins elevated beneath, 5-10 on each
side, arching upwards; peduncle short, mostly unbranched, to
1.5 cm long; corolla tubular, 1.0-1.5 cm long, greenish white,
tomentose basally within; stamens tomentose at point of
insertion and at base; berry obovoid, -8 mm long, black.
Guatemala to Ecuador, Venezuela into the Lesser Antilles;
common in Dominica in interior forests, especially along
streams: Castle Bruce road (Cowan 1623, Ramuge s.n. in
1889), Deux Branches (Chambers 2764, Hodge 3121, 3457),
Grand Bay (Eggers 61 7), Freshwater Lake area (Eggers 875,
Hodge 1766, 1965, 1981, 2019, Lloyd 216, Nicolson 2107,
Ramage s.n. in 1888), Layou River (Chambers 2517, Ernst
1005, Nicolson 4184), Lisdara (Cooper 154,180, Hodge 2334,
2367, 2404), South Chiltern (Hodge 1546), Sylvania (Cooper
96, Hodge 1362), Syndicate (Hodge 2762, Wasshausen &
Ayensu 352, Whitefoord 3580, 5171). sine lcc. (Bryant 115,
Imray 197).
Datura Linnaeus
Datura inoxia
Doturo inoxio Miller, 1768.Safford, 1921:179.-Barclay, 1959:254.
Doturo metel sensu Grisebach, 1862:434, et auctt., non Linnaeus.
Erect, finely soft and glandular pubescent herb; leaves ovate,
sinuate; pedicels solitary, stout; calyx tubular, pubescent;
corolla white, tubular, to 20 cm long, opening at night; capsule
pendulous, globose, with soft spines, 2.5-4.5 cm across.
Neotropics, now a widespread weed; in Dominica on the
west coast (between Batali River and Coulibistri (Ernst 1396).
Ed. Note: Miller’s original spelling of the Latin adjective
for what he translated as “harmless” was “inoxia,” implying not
(in-) acid (oxy), rather than not (in-) harmful (noxia). My
instinct would be to correct the orthographic error but the
author objected.
Other species may occur in Dominica. Datura stramonium
Linnaeus is a common weed in the Antilles and has glabrate
leaves with pointed lobes and an erect fruit. Datura metel
Linnaeus (incl. Datura fastuosa Linnaeus, 1759) is an Old
World species sometimes cultivated and escaping (attributed to
Dominica by VBlez, 1957: 114) and has violet flowers and dull,
stout bumps on the indehiscent fruit.
Species of Datura contain highly poisonous alkaloids used
in medicine.
Lycianthes (Dunal) Hassler
Lycianthes pauciflora
Lycianthespouciyoro (Vahl) Bitter, 1919:341.
Solonwn pouciflorwn Vahl, 1797, Eclog.. 1:20.4. Schulz in Urban, 1909,
6 190.
Solanwn neglectwn Dunal, 1813:177.
Solanwn specimwn Dunal, 1813:179.
Shrub or woody vine; twigs reddish stellate-tomentose to
glabrescent; leaves entire, ovate; pedicels slender, fasciculate;
calyx 10-ribbed and 10-dentate, the teeth reflexed in fruit;
corolla greenish, rotate, 1.0-1.3 cm long; berry globose,
orange, 1.0-1.4 cm across.
Guadeloupe to Trinidad; in interior of Dominica: Carholm
Estate (Ernst 1942), Lisdara (Hodge 806), near Prince Rupert
[Cabrits?] (Eggers 896), Syndicate (Ernst 2002, Whitefoord
3531,3634), sine loc. (Cooper 53).
Physalis Linnaeus
All species of Physalis have edible bemes and some are
grown elsewhere for jams and sauces. The leaves and unripe
hits are poisonous!
1. Fruiting calyx weakly 5-10-angled; flowering calyx with
deltoid teeth; pedicels mostly longer than the flowering
calyx.. ................... P. angulata
1. Fruiting calyx strongly 5-angled; flowering calyx with
2.
2.
narrow teeth; pedicels about as long as the flowering calyx.
Plants glabrate; fruiting calyx glabrous ... P. cordata
Plants pubescent; fruiting calyx pubescent .......
....................... P. pubescens
Physalis angulata
Physolir ongulato Linnaeus, 1753: 183.-Waterfall, 1%7:216.
?Physolir Iinkiam sensu Grisebach, 1862:436, an Nees?
Glabrate herb with angled stems; leaves ovate, margins
sinuate or toothed; pedicels solitary, nodding, longer than the
flowering calyx; calyx short-cylindric, deltoidly lobed; corolla
rotate, yellow with a dark eye; anthers bluish; fruiting calyx
weakly 5-10-angled, glabrate, loosely enclosing berry.
Neotropics, now a widespread weed; in Dominica on
roadsides and in fields: Anse Noire (Shillingford & Ernst 284,
Massacre (Whitefoord 4633), Melville Hall (Burch 1332).
It is not certain whether Grisebach was refemng to this
species or the following in reporting t? linkiana. The bladder
with obsolete keels would seem to indicate P. angulata but the
lanceolate-acuminate calyx lobes are more appropriate to F!
cordata. While others treat Physalis linkiana Nees in the
synonymy of t? angulata, Waterfall argued that the name
should be abandoned.