Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

NUMBER 77 EUPHORBIACEAE 87
into flat phylloclades to 20 cm long and bearing flowers at the
nodes, mostly found on limestone near the sea. The species
probably is not on Dominica, else collectors would have picked
up such a striking species.
1. Leaves on main axes not reduced to scales; lateral axes not
deciduous; herb .............. P. caroliniensis
1. Leaves on main axes reduced to cataphylls; lateral axes
deciduous.
2. Shrubs.
3. Leaf-blades acute, symmetric (elliptic), calyx 6-
lobed; male disk cupuliform; female pedicel hirtellous
................ P. subglomeratus
3. Leaf-blades rounded to obtuse (apiculate in P.
mimosoides), assymetric; calyx 5-lobed; male disk of
discrete segments; female pedicel glabrous.
4. Leaf-blades obovate, f emarginate, 2-3 cm long;
styles fused into massive column higher than ovary
................... P. megapodus
4. Leaf-blades falcately elliptic, apiculate, c2 cm
long; styles free, spreading .... P. mimosoides
2. Herbs.
5. Stamens 5; pedicels capillary, >3 mm long .....
....................... P. tenellus
5. Stamens 3; pedicels usually thickened, c3 mm long.
6. S tipules conspicuously auriculate; leaf-blade hispidulous
beneath on margins; ovary bullaterugose;
seeds transversely ribbed and laterally
foveolate ................ P. urinaria
6. Stipules not auriculate; leaf-blade not hispidulous
beneath; ovary smooth; seed vermculose or longitudinally
ribbed.
7. Seeds with 5-6 longitudinal ribs; cymules
bisexual, each of 1 male and 1 female flower;
female calyx lobes acute or apiculate ......
.................... P. amarus
7. Seeds with 9-12 longitudinal striae (and many
fine transverse striae); cymules unisexual, the
proximal with several male flowers, the distal
with 1 female flower; female calyx lobes obtuse
or narrowed at apex ........ P. carilraeus
Phyllanthus amarus
Phyllanthus amarus Schumacher, 1827:421 .-Webster, 1957:3 13.
Graines en bas feuilles.
Herb to 5 dm; leaves 5-11 mm long, elliptic-oblong, the
apex obtuse to rounded; capsule 1.9-2.1 mm in diameter.
Neotropical weed, now pantropical; in Dominica along
roadsides to 150 m: Canefield (Nicolson 2146), Carib Point
(Wilbur 7907A), Hampstead (Lloyd 640), Hatton Garden
(Hodge 3038), Layou (Hodge 574), Soufriere Village (Emst
1339), St. Mark (Gillis 815.5).
Used by Caribs as an abortive agent (Hodge and Taylor,
1957:575). Adjanohoun et al. (1985103, pl. 69) reported use to
treat arterial hypertension.
Phyllanthus caribaeus
Phyllanthus caribaeus Urban, 1908,5:382.-Webster, 1957:318.
Herb to 3.5 dm; leaves 4-8 mm long, ovate-oblong or
elliptic, the apex obtuse; capsule 2 mm in diameter.
Dominica, St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad, and Tobago; in
Dominica a weed in pastures at 450 m: Lisdara (Hodge 2425),
Petit Macoucherie (Webster 13540), Syndicate (Whitefoord
3658).
Phyllanthus caroliniensis var. antillanus
Phyllanthus carolinienrir var. aniillanus I. Mueller, 1863:36.-Webste.r,
1956349.4tehl6, 1962a:323.
Weedy herb to 4.5 dm; stipules cordate; leaves 8-22 mm
long, elliptic to oblong or obovate, the apex obtuse or rounded;
stamens 3, free; pedicels to 1 mm long; capsule 1.7-2.0 mm in
diameter; seeds vermculose.
Lesser Antilles; in Dominica a weed in disturbed woodlands
to 400 m: Clarke Hall (Emst 1274), Fond Baron (Ernst 1623),
Portsmouth-Mome Brules (Hodge 573A).
Phyllanthus megapodus
Phyllanthus megapodur Webster, 1955:62; 1958:171.-Stehle, 1962x326.
Shrub or small tree to 5 m with slender, unbranched truck
and a terminal crown of to 30 branchlets; leaves 2-3 cm long,
oblong or obovate, the apex obtuse or rounded, pistillate
pedicel markedly thickened; capsule 5 mm in diameter.
Dominica and(?) Martinique; rare in Dominica in rainforests
750-1000 m in Mome Diablotins area: ridge top E of
Syndicate (Webster 13322), western ridge of Fon Pays (Hodge
2841).
Webster (1958:174) cited a Lloyd collection from Hampstead
(north of Diablotins), presumably not Lloyd 640, cited
above as Phyllanthus umarw. He also suggested that the
Martinique record (type) needs confirmation.
Phyllan th us mimosoides
Phyllanthus mimosoides Swartz, 1788:27.-Webster,
1962a:326.
1958: 174-Stehle.
Balier his, tamarind grand bois.
Shrub to 5 m, the trunk slender, unbranched, with a terminal
crown of leafy (30-60 leaves each) branchlets; stems fermginous
at top; leaves 5-15 mm long, oblong or oblong-obovate,
apex rounded; female pedicel not thickened; capsule 4-5 mm
in diameter.
Antigua(?), Montsemt, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Trinidad;
in Dominica very common in rainforest to 800 m and on
river banks: Calibishie (Hodge 3172), Carib Reserve (Hodge