L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 897. 1759

Rockrope, Bejuco loco, Uru cimarrona

Tendriled vine, the herbaceous stems terete,usually arising ultimately from a woody stem; most parts exceptpedicels and calyces villous; tendrils usually simple. Leavessimple; petioles mostly 1.5-5.5 cm long; blades all ± of sameshape, narrowly ovate to oblong-ovate, acuminate to acute at apex,mostly obtuse to truncate at base, sometimes subcordate to rarelycordate, the lower surface usually villous especially on veins,rarely nearly glabrous (frequently glabrous elsewhere), the uppersurface usually glabrous except on veins; veins arising from baseusually few to several, the lateral veins in 4 or 5 pairs above thebasal ones, entering the apiculate teeth on margins of blade. Cymesterminal or opposite upper leaves, branched, umbelliform, as broadas or broader than long; peduncles 1-5 cm long at anthesis, to 6.5cm long in fruit; bracts of inflorescence usually ciliate;ped­icels glabrous, 2-3 mm long; flowers 2-3 mm long,greenish-white to white or pale yellow (often red else­wherein bright exposed areas); calyx spreading, usually with 4 smalllobes, glabrous, usually wider than the unopened corolla; petals 4,oblong, free, falling soon after opening; stamens 4, shorter thanand opposite petals, arising from between the lobes of the disk;disk promi­nent, 4-lobed, persisting in fruit; style to 1 mmlong. Fruits obovoid, to 6 mm long, green becoming red then blackat maturity; seed usually 1. Croat 4581a.

Occasional, in and around the edge of theLaboratory Clearing. Flowers principally in the dry season, butsome flowers may be seen all year. Individuals probably flowerseveral times per year; certainly they flower more than once, sinceflowering plants frequently bear juvenile or mature fruit from anearlier flowering. The fruits prob­ably mature within 1 or 2months.

Southern United States throughout Central America and much ofSouth America; West Indies. In Panama, known from tropical moistforest in the Canal Zone, all along the Atlantic slope, and inChiriqui, Los Santos, Herrera, Panama, and Darien; known also fromtropical dry forest in Los Santos, Herrera' Coclé,and Panama, from premontane moist forest in the Canal Zone andPanama, and from premontane wet forest in Panama.