Cubanola includes two species of shrubs and small trees in the Greater Antilles. These are characterized by spreading branches with a distichous leaf arrangement, medium-sized leaves, persistent triangular stipules, large showy paired flowers, and rather large capsular fruits with numerous angled seeds. The flowers are about 10-30 cm long, and pendulous (these are mounted updside-down on most specimens). The flowers on a particular plant generally open at the same time, or in the same rather short period, and the display is quite showy. The foliage at leat sometimes has a erather foul odor, as noted in the collection data for Lorence & Horticultural Interns 10660, MO: "Leaves... when crushed with skunk-like, petrol odor". As in other Chiococceae, the leaves have a well developed visible midrib and secondary veins, but the higher-order vnation is not visible. The flowers are solitary in the axils at one or two nodes near the stem apex. The peduncles are rather stout, and do not appear to be articulated, These sometimes have irregularly developed bracts These bracts are narrowly triangular to linear, and when present vary from one to several in an alternate arrangement. The corollas in bud are weakly inflated and plicate, with ten alternatiing folds: the siuses between the lobes are folded "out", or extruded, while the midribs of the lobes are folded "in". The corollas are white or often perhaps pale green externally. The hypanthium has five well developed wings along its length that connect to the thickened or winged midribs of the calyx lobes. Cubanola is characteristically found in coastal vegetation, and is amenable to cultivation in tropical greenhouses and occasionally outdoors in tropical areas.

The two species of Cubanola were treated floristically by various authors, but first studied in detail by Aiello (1979). Her study of this group focussed particularly on details of the ovary and fruits, and she described these features of Cubanola as "placenta circular in cross-section, adnate to septum nearly its full length, the ovules anatropous, several hundred per locule"; and "seeds perpendicular to septum". Aiello described the range of Cubanola daphnoides as being only in eastern Cuba, but it is documented from variously localities along the entire northern coast and western end of the island (and some of those specimens were cited by her). Aiello presented a key to the two species based on relatively few specimens, separating them by the sizes of a number of structures, However, Cubanola domingensis is documented by more specimens now, and the size ranges of its petioles, corollas, and fruiting "pedicels" (i.e., peduncles) overlap with those of Cubanola daphnoides. These species now seem quite similar, and their separation may deserve re-evaluation. The lack of documentation of this genus from Haiti, between the ranges of the two species, is unusual but may be related to habitat and/or poor knowledge of the Haitian flora.

Paudyal et al. (2018) included Cubanola in their molecular study, and found it clearly nested within Chiococceae. They found Cubanola placed on a mostly Antillean clade, and sister to the rest of the clade, The other clade included Osa, Catesbaea, Portlandia, and Isidorea, several of which have species with similar large, white, pendulous, paired flowers.

Cubanola is similar to the single species of Thogsennia, which is also found in coastal vegetation in northeastern Cuba. Thogsennia's species and Cubanola daphnoides were in fact classified together in Gonianthes A. Rich. Aiello (1979: 98-99) distinguished her two genera by the winged hypanthium and keeled calyx lobes, dehiscent fruits, and undivided placentas of Cubanola, vs. smooth, indehiscent, and forked or 2-lobed, respectively, in Thogsennia. Thogsennia has not yet included in any molecular studies, but was considered by Paudyal et al. (2018) to be related to their Antillean clade containing Cubanola as well as some other genera of Chiococceae.

Several nomenclatural confusions remain to be resolved in Cubanola. Aiello (1979) equated Thogsennia with the former genus Gonianthes A. Rich., and its name is an anagram of Richard's genus. However, Gonianthes included two species, G. lindeniana, now Thogsennia lindeniana, and Gonianthes sagraeana, now treated as Cubanola daphnoides. Gonianthes sagraeana is now the lectotype of Gonianthus (Robbrecht & Bridson, 1993), so this genus is actually a synonym of Cubanola (Richard's name is illegitimate, however, so can't be taken up).

Also, both species of Cubanola seem to have unresolved typifications. The type of Portlandia domingensis is Rose et al. 4176, which is represented by two specimens at NY. Aiello (1979) cited these both as the holotype, following the practice of the day, because they were both deposited at NY where Britton worked and annotated by him. Typification rules have changed and tightened since then, however, and two part holotypes now must meet several requirements. The two NY sheets are similar in material and labels and are not identified as two parts of one collection, so these no longer can be regarded as two parts of one specimen. The identity of this name is clear based on its type collection, but at some point in the future this name may need lectotypication to satisfy clerical requirements.

The other species, Portlandia daphnoides, was described from living plants sent from Cuba and cultivated in Scotland. Aiello (1979) found no specimens corresponding to original material of this species, and designated a neotype, Rugel 374 at NY. However, since then a specimen that agrees with Cubanola daphnoides has been curated at FI as a type of Portlandia daphnoides, and has it has a printed label identifying it as coming from Graham's herbarium and then included in Webb's herbarium. This FI specimen is identified as Portandia daphnoides Graham and its dates and other information correspond to Graham's protololgue, and this may be original material of Graham's. If so, this specimen presumably would supersede Aiello's neotype.

Author: C.M. Taylor
The content of this web page was last revised on 16 April 2021.
Taylor web page: http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/curators/taylor.shtml

Humid forest at 0-60 m, widespread on limestone near and on seacoasts in Cuba and eastern Hispaniola (Dominican Republic). 

• Aiello, A. 1979. A reexamination of Portlandia (Rubiaceae) and associated taxa. J. Arnold Arbor. 60(1): 38–126.
• Paudyal, S.K., P. G. Delprete, S. Neupane & T. J. Motley. 2018. Molecular phylogenetic analysis ad generic delimitations in tribe Chioccceae (Cinchonoideae, Rubiaceae). Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 187: 365-396.
• Robbrecht, E. & D.M. Bridson. 1993. Nomenclatural notes on three Rubiaceae genera. Opera Bot. Belg. 6: 197–200.