Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

NUMBER 77 A~”ACEAE 25
Perennial herb or subshrub to 1 m; leaves opposite, oblong to
obovate, obtuse but minutely apiculate; corolla white or pink,
follicles 3.0 cm x 0.2 cm.
Madagascar, now pantropically cultivated; cultivated in
Dominica and escaping along dry west coasC Coulibistri (Ernst
1405), Portsmouth (DHN!), Scotts Head village (Hodge 1608).
Caribs make a medicinal tea from the leaves (Hodge and
Taylor, 1957:597). Adjanohoun et al. (198549, pl. 16) gave
more medicinal information and said that the species probably
originated in the Americas (not Madagascar) before becoming
pan tropical.
Funtumia Stapf
Funtumia elastica
Funtwnia ehtica (Preuss) Stapf, 1901.-Little et al., 1974326, pl. 664.
Kicbria elasrica Preuss, 1899:353, pl. 1.
Tree to 30 m; leaves opposite, oblong, shortly acuminate,
attenuate at base, 16-18 cm x 5-7 cm; axillary cymes shortly
peduncled.
West Africa and cultivated there as a source of rubber;
introduced into Dominica and apparently escaping: Red Gully
(Hodge 251 1), Sylvania (Hodge 3820, roadside between
Sylvania and Springfield (Wasshausen & Ayensu 395).
Plumeria Linnaeus
Cultivated Plumeria rubra Linnaeus, the frangipani, native
to Central and South America, with flat leaves >4 cm broad and
many cultivars, is cultivated but apparently does not escape:
Lisdara Estate (Hodge 672), Roseau Botanic Garden (Hodge
3954). between Sylvania and Springfield Estates in orange
grove (Wasshausen & Ayensu 396).
Plumeria alba
Plumeria alba Linnaeus, 1753:210.-Wdson,
sworth, 1964:460, pl. 217.
1938:216.-Little & Wad-
Tree to 8 m with succulent, f dichotomously branched
stems; leaves alternate, terminal on branches, with suongly
revolute margins, linear- lanceolate (25-30 cm x 3-4 cm);
flowers fragrant, white with yellow eye, lobes -1 cm broad.
Puerto Rico through Grenada; occasional in Dominica on
dry west coast to 50 m: Grand Savanne to St. Joseph (Ernst
1380, Nicolson 1940, Read 2007, Stern & Wasshausen 2434,
Wilbur 8281).
Prestonia R. Brown
Prestonia quinquangularis
Prestonia quinquangularis (Jacquin) Sprengel. 1825, 1 :637.-Wdsm
North her. Fl.. 1938,29:181.
Echites quinquangularis Jacquin, 1760:13.
in
Haedictyon venosiun Lindley, 1826a:70, nom. illeg.--Grisebach, 1862:413.
Liana with lanceolate leaves 6-14 cm x 2-6 cm, acute to
shortly acuminate, obtuse to rounded at base; inflorescence
racemose; flowers yellow, -2 cm long; calyx with scales
opposite the lobes, the lobes to 2 mm long, usually f reflexed.
West Indies and northern South America; only once
collected in Dominica, perhaps from cultivation: sine loc.
(Inuay 70 at K, confirmed by Dr. Boiteau in letter to editor
dated 23 Apr 1976).
1.
1.
Rauvolfm Linnaeus
Leaves 3-whorled, glabrous; lateral venation inconspicuous;
wet midlands ............ R. biaurkulata
Leaves 4-whorled; lateral venation conspicuous; dry
lowlands. .................... R. viridis
Rauvolfi biauriculata
Rauvolfia biauriculata J. Mueller, 1860:396, “Rauwolfia”.-Rao, 1956:338.
Bois lait de montagne.
Shrub or small tree to 9 m; leaves 3-whorled, glabrous,
oblanceolate to obovate, lateral venation inconspicuous on both
surfaces; corolla salverform, tube 4-6 mm, much longer than
1.5 mm lobes.
Native only in Guadeloupe and Dominica; frequent in
Dominica in interior 400-850 m: En Haut Jean (Webster
13510), Laudat-Freshwater Lake area (Chambers 2669, Eggers
674, Ernst 1785, Webster 13236), Lisdara (Hodge 2360),
Morne Couronne (Ernst 11 70), Pleasant Valley (Howard ?),
Roche d‘Or Estate (Wasshausen & Ayensu 404), Sylvania
(Hodge 1112), Syndicate (DHN!). Flowering January-June.
The original publication gave two erroneous localities:
Dominican Republic or Santo Domingo (based on Ritter s.n. at
W) and Trinidad (based on Sieber s.n. at W). The identifications
are correct but the first must have come from Dominica
and the second also surely involves mislabeling. La TrinitC of
Martinique could be involved (cf. notes under Marcgravia
trinitensis) but the xerophilous forest there is not a likely
habitat.
Rauvolfi viridis
Rauvoria viridis Rmer & Schultes, 1819, 4:805, “Rawolfia”.-Rao,
1956:291, fig. 4.
Rauvolfia hmarckii A.L. Candolle in A.P. Candolle, 1844, 8:337, “Rauwoljii.”
Bois lait, milky bush.
Shrub to 2 m; leaves quatemate, slightly anisophyllous,
broadly ovate-elliptic, acute to acuminate, tapering at base,
5-15 cm x 3-5 cm; corolla tubular or narrowly urceolate, tube
2.0-2.5 mm long, equaling lobes.
Puerto Rico through northern South America; frequent in
Dominica along dry west coast from St. Joseph to the Cabrits: