Lobeliarotundifolia juss

Lobeliarotundifolia juss.; A.DC. in DC. Prodr. 7: 383. 1839
Tupa domingensis Vatke, Linnaea 38: 728. 1874. {Schomburgk, Berlin!) Dortmannia rotundifolia Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 973. 1891.
Lobelia rotundifolia var. angustifolia Ekman; O. C. Schmidt, Repert. Sp. Nov. 32: 94. 1933. (Ekman H12923. isotype, US!)
Stem erect, shrubby, woody, 0.9-1.2 m. high, the branches as much as 0.4 cm. in diameter, yeUowish-brown, the bark mostly striate longitudinally, rough; plants pubescent above with fine hairs interspersed with minute spreading or upwardly hooked prickly processes; cauline leaves 30 or more, spreading, 0.5-1.5 cm. apart, thick and coriaceous, when fresh rather rigid and shining (according to G. W. Bachman), glabrous above, rough beneath because of the somewhat papillose and rough-pubescent veins, the margin crcnate with 3-4 inconspicuous brownish callose teeth per cm., the leaves appearing subentire, the blades 1-2.5 cm. wide by 4-6 cm. long, about 2-3 (6) times as long as wide, narrowly or broadly elliptic, the apex acute, short-acuminate, the base acute, the sides sometimes unequal; lower leaves petiolate, the petiole up to 0.5 cm. long; inflorescence few-18 cm. long, not secund, rather loosely 8-50-flowered, the terminal flowers aborting (always?) so that the raceme becomes more or less determinate, tipped by a cluster of small bracts; pedicels horizontally spreading from the base, slender (about 0.5 mm. in diameter), strongly short-prickly-pubescent with often hooked prickles, 10-17 mm. long, in anthesis bent up abruptly near tip so that the flower is erect or strongly ascending, in fruit declined from the base or stiffly spreading, each with a pair of brownish pubescent bracteoles (less than 1 mm. long) at the base or 1-5 mm. above it; flower-bracts linear, acute (or the lower leafy), pubescent, toothed, 1-1.5 mm. wide by 6-8 mm. long, decurrent; flower 34—43 mm. long, including hypanthiuin; corolla 28-36 mm. long, deep coral pink (according to Bachman) or crimson (according to Leonard), glabrous or slightly ciliate without, the tube rather abruptly contracted above the base, and uniformly arcuate, fenestrate at base, the slits 7-13 mm. long, the lobes little spreading, arcuate, nearly linear, acute, 1-2 mm. wide, the two next the dorsal fissure 10-14 mm. long, the other 3 about as long or very slightly shorter; filament-tube 24-28 mm. long, somewhat deflexed, exserted about half its length, glabrous, the filaments connate except the proximal third; anther-tube 4.5-6.5 mm. long, bluish-gray, the two smaller anthers white-tufted at tip; hypanthium in anthesis cup-shaped, somewhat prickly-pubescent or papillose, in fruit hemispheric (or slightly broader than high), 7-8 mm. broad; capsule two-thirds inferior; calyx-lobes linear-subulate, slightly dilated at base, 1-1.5 mm. wide by 4—7 mm. long, bristly-pubescent and usually obscurely caUose-toothed ; auricles none; seeds linear (when immature), roughly cellularreticulate, nearly 1 mm. long.
Type locality: Hispaniola, Nectoux (herb. Paris).
Distribution: Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, at elevations of 1000-2100 in.