''Strongylodon juangonzalezii'', commonly called JC's vine or purple jade vine, is a species of

leguminous Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

(woody

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

)

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the tropical forests of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It bears a cluster of large flowers that are initially lilac to purple in color, but become a striking blue as they mature.

Taxonomy

''Strongylodon juangonzalezii'' was first described in 2016 from specimens collected from the Buenavista Protected Landscape of

Mulanay Mulanay, officially the Municipality of Mulanay (), is a municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 55,576 people. The municipality is being considered to be listed in the tentativ ...

Quezon Province Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized city governed separately from the province, serves as the ...

. It is named after Juan Carlos Tecson Gonzalez, a professor of zoology and the then director of the

UPLB Museum of Natural History The UPLB Museum of Natural History (also known as MNH) is a natural science and natural history museum within the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus. It serves as a center for documentation, research, and information of flora ...

. The generic name comes from Greek ''strongylos'' ("round") and ''odontos'' ("tooth-like"), in reference to the teeth-like shape of the flowers.

Description

''Strongylodon juangonzalezii'' is a large woody vine (

) that climbs up to forest canopies. Each leaf is borne on long

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s that split into three leaflets with rounded bases and pointed tips, each around long and wide. The leaves are dark green in color on both the upper and lower surfaces. The flowers of ''Strongylodon juangonzalezii'' point upward. They bloom in dense clusters. They are a vibrant lilac to purple color when young, becoming a striking blue color as they mature. The seed pods are oblong in shape. They split longitudinally as they ripen and mature. The seeds are shiny and maroon in color when fresh, but turn dark brown and papery as they dry. ''Strongylodon juangonzalezii'' begins to flower and bear fruits from February to mid-March.

Distribution and habitat

''Strongylodon juangonzalezii'' is a

. It climbs large trees in disturbed

secondary growth forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, such as timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or equivalently disruptive natura ...

s. ''Strongylodon juangonzalezii'' is

to the

(it is the eighth endemic species of '' Strongylodon'' in the country). It has only been recorded in four sites in

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

island. Aside from the Buenavista Protected Landscape, it has also been described from the Masungi Georeserve of

Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q42678444 Phaseoleae Vines Endemic flora of the Philippines Plants described in 2016 Fabales of Asia

Taxonomy

Description

Distribution and habitat

See also

References