(Vahl) Kub., Mitt. Bot. Staatssamml. München 7:95. 1971
D. multiflora (DC.) St.-Hil.
Liana; outer bark loose, thin, brown, oftenpeeling. Petioles short, narrowly-winged; blades elliptic toobovate, acute to short-acuminate or rounded at apex with a shortdownturned apiculum, obtuse to attenuate and decurrent at base,6-10 cm long, 2.5-6 cm wide, glabrate to minutely scabridwith longer trichomes on midrib above, the surface punctate withpersistent bases of scabrid trichomes, glabrous or scabridulousbelow except sparsely hirsute on veins, the midrib often arched.Panicles terminal or upper-axillary; rachis oftenextended well beyond floriferous part; flowers many,pedicellate, fragrant; sepals 5, unequal (2 enlarged), ±maroon in bud, orange after anthesis, soon closing (perhaps onlyafter pollination) to enclose persistent stamens anddeveloping ovary; petals usually 5, obovate, ca 5 mm long,spreading to reflexed at anthesis, caducous; stamens numerous, ca 5mm long, bright yellow, dehiscing in bud; carpel 1, globose; stylebent in bud; stigma discoid, minutely papillate, held slightlyabove anthers soon after anthesis. Fruits small, rounded, black,minutely white-arillate, held within 2 orange dishlike sepals untilmaturity when the sepals open, indehiscent and dispersed by birds;seed 1. Croat 14610.
Abundant on trees on the shore, and frequent inthe canopy of the forest within the island. Flowers in the earlydry season, mostly from January to March; the flowers last for avery short time. The fruits may appear mature from February toAugust. Infected fruits may persist most of the year.
Standley mistakenly made BCI reports for bothDavilla rugosa Poir., which is a distinctspecies from South America, and D. kunthii St.-Hil.,which is a synonym of D. aspera (Aubl.) Benoist.
Pollen appears to be removed rather quickly fromthe anthers. Since it is somewhat tacky it is unlikely thatconsiderable amounts blow away. The flowers are ideally suited topollen feeders and are possibly pollinated by them. The species hasbeen seen visited by the bee Trigonacupira.
The fruits fall or are taken by birds mostly in the early rainyseason, beginning usually in May. The fruit crop is often veryhighly infested by Curculionidae beetles, which eat the seeds andthen escape as soon as the sepals open.
Southern Mexico to northern Brazil; the Antilles. In Panama,known principally from tropical moist forest in the Canal Zone,Colón, Veraguas, Coclé, and Panama, but known also frompremontane wet forest in Chiriqui.
