Cubanola domingensis, or campanita, are small trees in the family RubiaceaeâÂÂwhich includes coffee, among other generaâÂÂendemic to the Dominican Republic. The plant is known for its downward-facing, trumpet-like blossoms.
Cubanola dominguensisâÂÂalso known as 'campanita criolla', or 'little creole bell', in SpanishâÂÂis an endemic species to the Dominican Republic, on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (to the east of Haiti). Normally growing at lower elevations near the sea, it has been documented in many locations around the Dominican Republic, such as Cabo Rojo and Jaragua National Park, in the country's more southwesterly region, to Santiago de Los Caballeros in the north, Punta Cana in the east, and Santo Domingo, the capital city on the country's south-central coast.
It is a perennial plant, which means that the plant lives for more than two years. Cubanola dominguensis grows in shrubs or small trees. It produces a white, tan, greenish flowers, and they usually blossom repeatedly. These are also fragrant flowers, they say they smell like warm chocolate. This plant can also be dangerous if ingested because it can be poisonous.
Cubanola domingensis are shrubs or small trees up to 2 m in height with pendant, white flowers. Leaves with petioles 1âÂÂ3 mm long, blades ovate or elliptic 6âÂÂ12 cm long, 3.3âÂÂ6 cm wide, acuminate or acute at apex, obtuse or acute at base. Calyx lobes 1.1-2.5 cm long, 1âÂÂ2 mm wide. Corolla 18.5-19.8 long, tube 6.5âÂÂ7 cm long, lobes 7âÂÂ8 mm long. Fruit ellipsoid, 3-4.3 cm long, apex obtuse.
This plant usually grows in partial or full shade. This plant grows in limestone áreas and thus does well in alkaline soils. Being fully tropical, it is cold sensitive. In subtropical areas such as South Florida, cold weather may cause the leaves and flowers to drop.
They are endemic to the Dominican Republic, where they are found in the provinces of Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo, San Pedro de MacorÃÂs, and La Altagracia.
The species has been given the specific epithet "domingensis", as it occurs on the island of Hispaniola. This island was historically called Santo Domingo, or Saint-Domingue.
First collect by J.N. Rose in 1913 near Santo Domingo, they were published as Portlandia domingensis by Nathaniel Lord Britton in 1914. Later, Annette Aiello moved these to a new genera, Cubanola, in her 1979 doctoral thesis A reexamination of Portlandia (Rubiaceae) and associated taxa.
Cubanola domingensis is cultivated as an ornamental.