kudzu tropical
Pueraria phaseoloides
Diagnostic description 3
Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 9: 125. 1865.
Basionym: Dolichos phaseoloides Roxb.
Herbaceous vine, twining, much branched, attainig 15 m in length. Stems cylindrical, pilose. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate; leaflets 3-12(14) × 2.9-8.7(13) cm, chartaceous, ovate or rhombic, the lateral ones asymmetrical, the apex acute, the base cuneate on the central leaflet, rounded-obtuse on the lateral ones, the margins entire; upper surface dark green, dull, pubescent, especially on the veins; lower surface pale green, strigose, with prominent venation; petiolules swollen, 4-5 mm long, pubescent; petioles sulcate, pubescent, up to 12 cm long, with the base swollen; stipules narrowly lanceolate, 3-5 mm long; stipels subulate, minute, persistent. Pseudoracemes axillary, up to 25 cm long, with 2-3 flowers per node; bracts minute, persistent; peduncles pubescent. Calyx campanulate, ca. 5 mm long. Legume linear, flattened, 6-9 cm long, slightly curved, dehiscent by valves that open in a spiral, the valves septate between the seeds. Seeds numerous, ca. 3 mm long, oblong, dark brown to almost black.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting from November to March.
Status: Exotic, naturalized, very aggressive and very common.
Commentary: Apparently originally introduced on lands of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Mayagüez in Puerto Rico in 1940 from material from Malaya; today this species has a wide distribution throughout Puerto Rico.
Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 2411; 3740; 5432; 6966; Axelrod, F. 5819; 9472; Hermann, F.A. s.n.; Liogier, A.H. 10539; 10574.
Distribution 4
Distribution: In moist disturbed areas, at middle and lower elevations. Also on St. John. Native to tropical Asia, introduced in Africa and the Americas as a forage plant.
Public Forests: Carite, El Yunque, Maricao, Río Abajo, and Tortuguero.
Sources and Credits
- (c) 2010 Moorea Biocode, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=85416&one=T
- (c) "<a href=""http://nt.ars-grin.gov/"">ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory</a>. Africa.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=puph2_001_ahp.tif
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435389
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435862
