Stems 1.5–4 cm diam., internodes 3–10 cm; scales orange, brownish, or golden, denticulate. Roots from under surface. Petiole 30–60 cm, essentially glabrous, grooved adaxially. Blade broadly ovate, 3–4-pinnate, base slightly reduced, somewhat leathery, glabrous. Pinnae stalked, closely spaced to overlapping, lanceolate. Pinnules anadromous throughout. Tertiary segments obliquely ascending.
Habitat: Climbing on trees in wooded limestone hills
Elevation: 0 m
Distribution
Fla., West Indies in Cuba, Jamaica.
Discussion
Maxonia apiifolia, known in the flora from one collection made in 1921 in southern Florida, has not been relocated and may be extirpated. J. T. Mickel (1979) suggested that it may represent a horticultural escape, but the species is not known in cultivation. Its occurrence in Florida may indicate long-distance dispersal from the West Indies. Maxonia apiifolia var. dualis (J. D. Smith) C. Christensen occurs in Central America in Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama, and in South America in Ecuador. It differs from var. apiifolia only by its entire, rather than denticulate, scales.
Selected References
None.