Hyperbaena mexicana is a species of flowering plant in the family Menispermaceae. It is a shrub or tree with leathery leaves, flowers with six sepals, and yellowish-green to red fruits. The species is native to Central America and Mexico, and was described in 1871.
Hyperbaena mexicana is listed as of Least Concern by the IUCN.
Taxonomy The name Hyperbaena mexicana was invalidly published as a nomen nudum by John Miers in 1851. Miers described the species validly in 1871.
Distribution Hyperbaena mexicana is native to the wet tropical biome of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico (Gulf, south-east, and south-west). Within Guatemala, it is found in Petén, Izabal, El Progreso, Santa Rosa, Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu, and Huehuetenango. It may also be present in Nicaragua.
It grows at elevations of , in deciduous and wet forests.
Description Hyperbaena mexicana is a shrub or small tree that grows up to high, and around wide. The branches are cylindrical, and brown or greyish.
The leaves are leathery, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, long, and wide. The edges are smooth and somewhat undulating. The leaf stem is long.
The male inflorescences are usually clustered panicles or racemes, which grow on long stems. The flower stems are long. The male flowers have six sepals. The outer sepals are obovate, long, and around wide. The inner sepals are broadly ovate to orbicular, around long, and wide. The male flowers have six obovate to rhombic petals, which are long, and wide. The male flowers have six stamens.
The female inflorescences are usually solitary spikes or racemes, which grow on long stems. The flower stems are up to long. The female flowers have six sepals. The outer sepals are ovate, around long, and around wide. The inner sepals are ovate-oblong, around long, and around wide. The female flowers have six petals, which are obovate-oblong, around long, and around wide. The female flowers have three carpels.
The fruits are yellowish-green to red, obovoid or globose, long, and wide.
Conservation In 2019, the IUCN assessed Hyperbaena mexicana as of Least Concern. The species faces no major threats.
Nomenclature In Spanish, the species is known as . In Tzeltal, it is known as .
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