''Neobracea bahamensis'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...

that is endemic to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and several islands in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

including Andros,

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

, Cat Island, Great Exuma,

Long Cay Long Cay (formerly known as Fortune Island; pt, Caio Longo; es, Cayo Largo; french: Île de la Fortune) is an island in the Bahamas in an atoll that includes Acklins Island and Crooked Island. It is 8 square miles (21 km²) and is in the Ackl ...

and Crooked Island. In its native environment, the plant grows in coastal thickets, pine barrens and along the borders of brackish swamps. It can also be found along roadways on these islands. ''Neobracea bahamensis'' is a shrub and grows to about high with greyish brown branches. Its leaves are long and are firm in texture, oblong or obtuse in shape, narrowing at the base. The leaves are clustered at the tips of branches. The flowers appear with the leaves and have a white

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

with a reddish throat. The flower's five petals are fused, forming a tube. The petals form a pinwheel shape, overlapping to one side. There are five fused stamens, a superior ovary, two

locule A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

s, and many ovules. The mature fruits are brown and are dispersed using tufts of hair on the seeds. This species, along with other Bahamian-endemic plant species, is an ecologically important part of

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his bo ...

habitats in the Bahamas. Economically, the flowers can reportedly be used as flavouring for rice in its native range.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15368232 Malouetieae Flora of Cuba Flora of the Bahamas Plants described in 1920 Flora without expected TNC conservation status