Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

ANNONA FAMILY (ANNONACEAE)
41. Haya minga Guatteria blainii (Griseb.) Urban
A tree of the hi her mountains, haya mine is
distinyislied by : ?I) small, lentliery, dark green,
oblong, fragrant leaves in 2 rows on slightly zigznp
blackish twigs which frequently are almost lionzontal;
(2) tlie greenish-yellow flowers about 1%
inches across the 5 spreading fleshy petals and
borne singly on long stalks at base of leaves; and
(3) cluste~s of mnny elliptic berries about 1/2 inch
long and y, inch thick from 1 flower.
A medium-sized evergreen tree becoming 20-40
feet in' height and 1-11/2 feet in trunk diameter,
rarely larger. Sometimes the trunk is buttressed
at base and often it is irre lar in cross section,
much thicker on 1 side. T f" ie bark is brown and
rough, becoming dark and purplish black. Inner
bark is pink nyitli spicy taste. Tlie twigs are minutely
hairy wlien young.
Petioles of the alternate leaves are only 1/8-%
inch long. Blades are 11h-3 inches long and 5/s-
1% inclies vide, stiff, short -pointed or rounded at,
apex and short-pointed at base, slightly turnetl
under at margins, and beneath yellow green with
veins mised.
The flowers have a slight fragrance. Flower
stalks are 3/4-1% inches long. Tlie cnlyx has 3 triangular
lobes s/16 inch long turned backwards; tlie
6 greenish-yellow, elliptic, finely hairy petals are
1/2-7/8 inch long; there are numerous crowded
small stamens less than '/la incli long in a circular
mass 1/, inch across; and a central group of mnny
small pistils less tlinn y8 inch long, each with a
1-celled 1-ovuled ovary.
The fruit is com osed of a cluster of many nearly
stalkless, spren$ng, short-pointed berries, ewh
containing 1 large shiny brown elli tic seed.
Flowring and fruiting more than once &wing the
year.
The sapwood is light brown or whitish. The
\I-ood is hard and heavy (specific gravity 0.8).
Formerly it was used for construction but now
chiefly for posts, since few large trees remain.
In forests of tlie upper Luquillo and Cordillera
i+egions of Puerto Rico.
PUBLIC m~~8~s.-Carite, Guilarte, Luquillo,
Maricuo, Susha, Toro Negro.
RANGE.-Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico.
OTHER COSIJIOS SAXES.-nep low haya
(Puerto Rico) ; yaya (Dominican Republic) ;
purio fangnr, purio prieto, ceda (Cuba) ; bois noir
(Haiti).
' BOT~NICAL SYNONYM.-C a n a n g a b l a in i i
(Griseb.) Britton.
Hays blanca (Guatteriu caribaea Urban; syno-
nym Canunga caribaea (Urban) Britton), a re-
Intetl forest tree of tlie Luquillo region of Puerto
Rico, has larger long-pointed leaves 3-81/2 inches
long and l1/,-23/4 inches wide.