Hyperbaena domingensis, commonly known as forest snakevine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Menispermaceae. It is a climbing shrub, tree, or vine, with greenish-yellow, greenish-brown, or white flowers. The fruits are green to purple drupes.
Hyperbaena domingensis has a broad native range in the Caribbean and South America. It was first described in 1817.
Taxonomy The species was first described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1817. De Candolle placed it in the genus Cocculus. In 1861, George Bentham placed the species in Hyperbaena. The delimitation of the species has historically been unclear. Hyperbaena prioriana and Hyperbaena valida were formerly considered part of Hyperbaena domingensis, but were later recognised as distinct species.
Hyperbaena domingensis is the type species of Hyperbaena.
Distribution Hyperbaena domingensis is primarily native to the seasonally dry tropical biome. It grows in the Caribbean and South America. It occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and the Windward Islands.
The species grows in swampy areas and wet forests, at elevations of .
Description Hyperbaena domingensis is a perennial climbing shrub, tree, or trailing woody vine. It can grow up to long. The branches are grey, and striped.
The leaves are leathery, long, wide, narrowly or broadly ovate, and have smooth margins. The leaf stems are long.
The male inflorescences are usually in clusters, and grow on long stems. The flower stems are long. The male flowers are white, greenish-brown, or greenish-yellow, and usually have six stamens. They have six sepals in two groups. The outer sepals are obovate, around long, and wide. The inner sepals are broadly ovate, around long, and around wide. The male flowers have six petals in two groups. The petals are obovate to orbicular, around long, and around wide.
The female inflorescences are usually solitary, and grow on long stems. The flower stems are long. The female flowers are greenish-yellow, and have six sepals in two groups. The female flowers usually have three carpels. The outer sepals are obovate, around long, and around wide. The inner sepals are broadly ovate, around long, and around wide. The female flowers have six broadly obovate petals in two groups, around long, and around wide.
The fruits are narrowly to broadly obovoid drupes, which are green to purple, long, and wide. The epicarp is smooth. The endocarp and seed are horseshoe shaped.
Uses Hyperbaena domingensis is used for food and medicine.
Nomenclature In English, Hyperbaena domingensis is commonly known as "forest snakevine". In Portuguese, the species is known as , , or .
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