Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

88 EUPHORBIACEAE SMITHSONTAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO BOTANY
3219, Stehle 6407, 6432), Castle Bruce Road (Ernst 1449),
Clarke Hall (Webster 13398), Deux Branches (Hodge 3439),
Dleau Gommier (DeFilipps 161), Green Hill Estate (Wilbur
8283, Hatton Garden (Hodge 3075), Jean (Webster 13493, La
Chaudiere (Hodge 3558, 3662), Lancashire (Webster 13461),
La Savanne (Whitefoord 4515), Laudat (Gillis 8204), Layou
Park (Nicolson 2076), Layou River Road (Cowan I631),
Morne aux Diables (Wilbur 8070), Point Lo10 (Webster
13385), Pont Casse (Wilbur 8145,8283, Riversdale (Howard
11779, Proctor 25785), Roche d'Or Estate (Stern 2583), St.
Hilaire Trace (Beard 645,1460), Sugar Loaf (Eggers 1064).
Phyllanthus subglomeratus
Phyllanthus subglcrneraius Poiret in Lamarck, 1804, Encycl., 5:304, "subglomerato".-Webster,
1957:368.
Phyllanthus corn' sensu aucts., non Swam, 1788:28.
Phyllanthus brasiliensis sensuStehle & Quentin in SStehleet al., 1937, 1:48,
non (Aublet) J. Mueller.
Phyllanthus brasiliensir var. oblong$olius J. Mueller, 1863:27.
Shrub or small tree to 4 m, the trunk sparsely branched;
leaves 14-26 mm long, elliptic, apex acute; capsule unknown.
Guadeloupe, Martinique, Trinidad, and Tobago; in Dominica
apparently rare in thickets on southeast coast Grand Bay
(Eggers 662).
Phyllanthus tenellus
Phyllanthus fenellus Roxburgh, 1832,3:668.-Webster, 1957:52.
Annual herb to 5 dm; leaves 6-24 mm long, membranous,
broadly elliptic to obovate, the apex acute to obtuse; pedicels
filiform, the males 0.5-1.5, the females 2.5-7.0 mm, often
pendant in fruit; capsule 1.7-1.9 mm in diameter; seeds
roughened.
Native to Mascarene Islands, introduced in neotropics; in
Dominica a weed in disturbed woodlands 150-550 m: Baiac
(Whitefoord 3836), Fond Baron (Ernst 1598), South Chiltern
(Hodge 1539, 3878 ex pare), Springfield Wilbur 7683),
Sylvania (Hodge 572).
Caribs were said to use this as an abortifacient by
Honychurch (1980:42). Adjanohoun et al. (1985:103, pl. 70)
reported limited medicinal usage.
Phyllanthus niruri Linnaeus, distinguished by its oblique
leaflets and verrucose seeds, was reported for Dominica by
Vklez (1957:90), apparently a misidentification of l? tenellus.
Phyllanthus urinaria
Phyllanthus winaria Linnaeus, 1753:982.-Webster, 1951:194.
Graines en bas feuilles.
Herb to 5 dm; leaves 8-20 mm long, tardily sensitive to
touch, oblong or oblong-obovate, the apex obtuse to acute;
capsule 2 mm in diameter.
Native to Asia, now pantropical; in Dominica a weed in
disturbed areas: Carib Reserve (Taylor 142, I S), Clarke Hall
(Wilbur 7362), Deux Branches (Hodge 3109), Fern Villa
(Hodge 576), Grand Bay (Wilbur 7907B, 8030), Hatton Garden
(Hodge 3283, La Chaudiere (Hodge 3643, La Plaine
(Whitefoord 5403), Morne Plaissance (Whitefoord 4423),
Ridgefield (Hodge 2160), Roseau (Hodge 576), Springfield
(Wilbur 7686), Sylvania (Hodge 575).
Used by Caribs as an abortive agent (Hodge and Taylor,
1957:575:4, out of the 6 collections cited). Adjanohoun et al.
(1985:105, pl. 105) reported medicinal use in baths of babies.
Plukenetia Linnaeus
Plukenetia volubilis
Plukenetia volubilir Linnaeus, 1753: 1192.-Webster & Burch, 1968:294.
Vine; petioles to 7 cm long; leaf-blade cordate at base,
broadly ovate, abruptly acuminate, k entire to crenulate, to 14.5
cm long, with 2 sessile rectangular glands at base of blade;
styles fused into a column 2 cm long; capsule 3.5 cm wide, the
4 cocci spreading.
St. Vincent, Central and South America; apparently rare in
Dominica in rainforest at 600 m: Rosehill (Eggers 580), sine
loc. (Imray s.n.).
Richeria Vahl
Richeria grandis
Richeria grandis Vahl, 1797, Eclog., 1:30, pl. 4.
Bois ban&, bois band6 rouge, mang blanc.
Dioecious tree to 20 m; leaves glabrous, obovate or
oblanceolate, usually rounded at apex, to 28 cm x 17 cm;
flowers yellowish green; capsule 1-1.5 cm long; seeds orange,
7 mm long.
Antigua to Brazil; in Dominica a common second growth
tree in rainforests and a dominant in montane thickets from
125-700 m: Belle View (Cooper 177, Eggers 600, 677),
Breakfast River (Hodge 1895), Brigandin (Nicolson 1863),
Deux Branches (Hodge 3425), Dleau Gommier (Nicolson
4095), Fond Figues River (Ernst 1023), Layou Park Estate
(Nicolson 2073, Lisdara (Cooper 189, Hodge 568, 2357,
2441), L'Or River (Nicolson 2031), Morne aux Diables (Wilbur
SOSO), Morne Couronne (Ernst 1169, Webster 13232), Morne
Micotrin (Wilbur 7441), Morne Trois Pitons (Hodge 1241),
Pont Casse (Ernst 1795, Nicolson 4092, Wilbur 7753, 7833,
8178), Riversdale (Howard 11772, Websfer 13443, Roche
d'Or Estate (Stern & Wasshausen 2586), Sylvania (Cooper 82,
Hodge 567, 569, 1090, 1318, 3821, 3825), Syndicate (Hodge
2613, Whitefoord 3599). In early fruit in mid-May.
A decoction of the bark is reported to be an aphrodisiac
(Hodge and Taylor, 19.57576).