Flora of North America species comparison

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Thespesia populnea

Thespesia

cork-tree, majagua, portia tree, seaside mahoe, Spanish cork

thespesia
Habit Trees 2–12 m. Trees [shrubs].
Stems

lepidote to glabrate when young.

erect, glabrous or hairy when young, usually glandular-punctate, not viscid.
Leaves

stipules 3–7 mm;

petiole mostly 2/3–1 times length of blade;

blade 6–13 cm, apex acute or acuminate, venation palmate, with nectariferous zone near base of midrib.

stipules persistent or deciduous, lanceolate or falcate;

blade ovate, unlobed [3-lobulate], base deeply cordate [shallowly cordate to ± truncate], margins entire, surfaces glabrate [hairy], with abaxial foliar nectaries.
Inflorescences

flowers large.

axillary solitary flowers, [sometimes aggregated apically];

involucel present, bractlets caducous, 3, distinct.
Pedicels

erect, stout, shorter than subtending petiole;

involucellar bractlets irregularly inserted, ligulate.

Flowers

calyx 8–10 mm, subglabrous, minutely lepidote;

petals 4–6 cm, punctate;

staminal column pallid, ca. 1/2 length of petals, apically 5-dentate, glabrous;

style exceeding stamens;

stigmas decurrent.

calyx not accrescent, not inflated, lobes truncate [to 5-lobed], not ribbed;

corolla yellow [white or rose], with [without] maroon spot at base, usually fading pinkish orange;

staminal column usually included;

ovary 3–5-carpellate, style 3–5-branched;

stigmas clavate.
Fruits

capsules, erect, somewhat inflated, oblate, coriaceous [ligneous], lepidote [glabrous or hairy], indehiscent [dehiscent].
Capsules

(3–)5-locular, 3–3.5 cm diam..

Seeds

8–9 mm.

3–5 per locule, short-hairy [glabrous].
x

= 13.
2n

= 24, 26.

Thespesia populnea

Thespesia
Phenology Flowering year-round.
Habitat Littoral vegetation
Elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; Asia; Africa; Pacific Islands (New Guinea); Australia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico (Veracruz), West Indies, n South America]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
Asia; Africa; Pacific Islands (Papua New Guinea); Australia [Introduced, Fla.; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, n South America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Thespesia populnea is sometimes grown as a shade tree, and has been found in coastal Florida from Brevard and Sarasota counties south to Monroe County, most commonly on the Florida Keys. The species is thought to be native to coastal areas of the Indian and Pacific oceans and widely introduced and naturalized in the New World. The capsules float and have distributed the seeds widely. It has been used widely for food, lumber, fiber, and medicine.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species 17 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 372. FNA vol. 6, p. 372. Authors: Paul A. Fryxell†, Steven R. Hill.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Thespesia Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae
Subordinate taxa
T. populnea
Synonyms Hibiscus populneus
Name authority (Linnaeus) Solander ex Correa: Ann. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 9: 290. (1807) Solander ex Corrêa: Ann. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 9: 290, plate 25, fig. 1. (1807)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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