Plantas de la Isla de
Plants of the Island of

Puerto Rico

Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

Família/Family: Malvaceae

Grupo/Group: Dicotiledónea/Dicotyledon.

Forma de vida/Life form: Arbusto/Shrub

Duración de vida/Lifespan: Perenne/Perennial.

Sustrato/Substrate: Terrestre/Terrestrial.

Distribución nativa/Native range: Indias Occidentales (Antillas Menores, Antillas Mayores, Bahamas), Florida peninsular, México, Centroamérica y Sudamérica; introducida en el Viejo Mundo. / The West Indies (Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, Bahamas), peninsular Florida, Mexico, Central America and South America; introduced to the Old World.

Mapa de ubicaciones / Map of locations

Notas/Notes: Although cited as spontaneous or persistent following cultivation by Britton & Wilson (1924 [V(4):566-568]) and exotic in Puerto Rico (and the West Indies in general) by Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong (2012, 2016), most authorities would agree that both native and introduced plants are present on the island of Puerto Rico. Gossypium hirsutum var. marie-galante, now a synonym of this species, is the variety which is native to the Greater Antilles, southern Central America (Panama) and South America including Trinidad (Austin 2003); it is most common in the dry eastern and southern regions of the island of Puerto Rico (Liogier 1994). Other entities (e.g., varieties hirsutum, lanceolatum, punctatum) are native elsewhere. See Liogier (1994 [III:132-135]) for descriptions and a key to the principal historic varieties reported for Puerto Rico.