Capparis flexuosa (L.) L.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 51: 1-483.

  • Family

    Capparaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Capparis flexuosa (L.) L.

  • Description

    Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /home/emu/nybgweb/www-dev/htdocs/science-dev/wp-content/themes/nybgscience/lib/VHMonographsDetails.php on line 179

    Description - Woody shrub, erect or clambering, much branched from the base, 2-10 m in length. Branches pendulous, glabrous, light brown, smooth, attaining 20 cm in diameter at the base. Leaves alternate; blades 4-10- 1.5-2.5 cm. oblong or linear, coriaceous, glabrous, the apex rounded or emarginate, the base rounded, the margins entire, revolute; upper surface yellowish green, shiny or dull; lower surface pale green, dull, with a prominent midvein; petioles 5-8 mm long, light brown. Flowers fragrant, nocturnal, clustered in terminal corymbs. Calyx yellowish green, of 4 imbricate sepals, rounded, fleshy, 6-10 mm long; petals green or yellowish green, 4, elliptical, 1.5-3 cm long, concave; stamens numerous, white, 4-6 cm long. Follicles fleshy, cylindrical-torulose, 6-8 cm long, light brown, with longitudinal dehiscence, the inner walls red-orange; seeds pendulous from the parietal placenta, oblong, ca. 1 cm long, with a white, fleshy covering.

    Phenology - Flowering from March to October and fruiting in August and September.

    Conservation Status - Native, very common.

  • Common Names

    burro, palo de burro, palinguam, palawang, black witty, bottle wiss, goat wiss, limber caper