Sphinga platyloba

Sphinga platyloba is variable in terms of growth, the structure of its leaves, its hairiness, and number of stamens. Keeping that in mind, it can be said that the species is woody and stiffly branched. The branches are armed with conspicuous woody stipules in the form of stout spines up to 5mm long (~+13⁄64 inch). Leaves normally are twice divided into leaflets, the leaflets being paler on their undersurfaces than on their tops.^[3]

Seven to 15 flowers are clustered in crowded, showy heads. The flowers' narrowly trumpet-shaped corollas are white, up to ~18mm long (~+7⁄10 inch). Usually 35-80 white and very conspicuous stamens emerge far beyond the corolla, each stamen tipped with a tiny, pollen-producing anther.^[3]

Within the Fabaceae family, Sphinga platyloba, in accordance with the Legume Phylogeny Working Group in 2017, currently is recognized as occupying the Mimosoid clade nested within the Caesalpinioideae subfamily.^[4]

As seen on the GBIF map for Sphinga platyloba, the species displays a strikingly disjunct distribution, occurring in southern Mexico, especially the Yucatan Peninsula, plus Belize and northern Guatemala, then in a small area of northwestern Costa Rica, and again in northwestern South America.^[5]

In the Yucatan Peninsula, Sphinga platyloba is described as inhabiting coastal dunes, forests of high to medium heights whose species bear evergreen or deciduous foliage, low deciduous forests, including those that occasionally flood, and mangroves.^[6]

In Mexico, Sphinga platyloba has been documented as suitable for woodworking and tanning, as medicinal and as providing food.^[6]

The first part of the genus name Sphinga references the moth family Sphingidae, the sphinx moths, which some assume to be the pollinators of Sphinga species; then for the -inga in Sphinga the name-makers pivot to the indigenous Brazilian Tupi language, in which the vernacular name for several species in the Mimosoid clade is Sphinx inga.^[7]

In the species name platyloba, platy- is from the Greek πλατύς, platus, meaning wide, flat, large.^[8] The -lobus is a New Latin term referring to parts of a plant which are flattened and not entirely separate from one another -- lobes.^[9]