Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

The main axis of the alternate leaves is green,
tinged with brown, with 2-5 pairs of lateral axes
(pinnne), and the latter each bearing 11-21 leaf-
lets. The leaflets also are alternate on short stalks
less than +b inch long and with blades
inches long and s/s-y8 inch broad, edges not
toothed, minutely and very inconspicuously hairy
on both sidw, dull green on upper surface, and
blue green beneath.
Flower clusters (racemes) are lateral and ter-
minal, slender and unbranched with many small
flowers on stalks about % inch lon . The tiny
light green calyx 1/16 inch long is be 7 1-shaped, 5-
toothed. the 5 spreading, narrow, pointed, petals
% inch iong; 10 stamens a little longer than petals,
pale yellow with brown anthers; and pistil s/16 inch
long with light green 1-celled ovary and slender
style.
The dark brown pods nre inch broad,
curved, somewhat fleshy, flattened between seeds,
splitting into 2 parts and twisting upon openin .
The several showy seeds (about 1,600 to a poun4
adhere to the opened pods. Flowering usually
from late summer to winter (August to January),
the fruit maturing in fall and winter and remain-
ing attached for some time.
The sapwood is light brown and hard. Heart-
wood is'reddish. The wood is hard, heavy (specific
gravity 0.6-0.8), strong, and durable. It is used
as roundmood or fuel. Elsewhere the wood has
been employed in construction and cabinetwork
and is the source of a red dye.
LEGUME FAMILY
This is a shade tree and ornamental in Puerto
Rico. In Malaya grown as a shade tree for plantation~rops.
The shiny bright colored seeds after
softenin in boiling water serve as beads in necklaces
an d novelties.
Naturalized in the coastal and moist limestone
regions of Puerto Rico. Also in St. Thomas, St.
John, and Tortola.
PUBLIC ~o~~s~s.-Cambalache, Guajataca, Mari-
cao, Rio Abajo, Vega.
RANGE-Native of tropical Asia, first described
from India. Planted and naturalized in other
tropical regions including West Indies from Cuba
and Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago. Grown in
southern Florida and California. Cultivated in
Dutch West Indies and South America from
Venezuela to Brazil but very rare in Central
America.
OTHER COMBION N.IMES.--coralitos, coral, mato
colorado, palo de mato, peronias chatus (Puerto
Rico) ; Circnssian-bean, coquelicot (Virgin Is-
lands) ; coralitos, peonia (Dominican Republic) ;
coralin, coral, coralillo (Cuba) ; sandal beadtree,
red sandaln~ood, Circnssian-bean, Circassian-seed
(United States) ; red sandnIwood, Circassian-seed
(Jamaica, Trinidad) ; 1'6glise (Grenadines) ;
jumbie-bead (Trinidad) ; buckbead (British Gui-
ann) ; dglisse, arbre b rGglisse, arbre B graines
gglisse, cornil v6@tal (Guadeloupe) ; pau tanto,
tento carolina (Brazil).
(LEGUMINOSAE)
MIMOSA SUBFAMILY (MIMOSOIDEAE; MIMOSACEAE)
60. Acacia amarilla, tibet, lebbek Albizia lebbek (L.) Benth.*
A common introduced roadside tree of the drier
areas, acacia amarilla is characterized by: (1)
twice pinnate leaves (bipinnate) 6-16 inches long,
with 2-4 pairs of lateral axes and with many ob-
long leaflets 3/4-1% inches long and s/s-s/s inch
broad, rounded at both ends and very oblique at
base; (2) quantities of many fragrant cream-
colored .flowers clustered together at end of a lat-
eral stalk in a rounded mass 2-3 inches across the
many threadlike, spt-eading, whitish to yellow
stamens tipped with light green; and (3) flat,
broad, straw-colored pods 48 inches or more in
length and 1-1s inches broad, usually present in
quantities.
A medium-sized deciduous tree 20-40 feet high
and to 1% feet in diameter or larger, with spread-
ing crown of thin foliage. The gray bark is
smoothish, becoming fissured or rough, the inner
bark pink and bitter. The twigs are mnish, be-
coming gray or brown.
The alternate leavp have a greenish or yellow-
brown leaf axis bearing a small elliptic gland on
upper side near base and 2 4 pairs of lateral axes
(pinnae), each with 4-9 pairs of leaflets. Leaf-
lets have very short stalks less than I/ls inch long
and thin blades, with the midrib not in center and
sometimes a second prominent vein from base, the
ed es not tootHed, dull green above, and beneath
lig % t green and sometimes minutely hairy. The
terminal leaflets are broadest above middle
(obovate) .
Rounded clusters (umbels or heads) of many
spreading short-stalked narrow flowers are borne
at the end of lateral stalks 11/24 inches long,
singly or 2-4 together, each flower on a short slen-
der hairy stalk almost I/a inch long. The indi-
vidual flower lx-11/2 inches long to end of stamens
has a tubular 5-toothed hairy-calyx 4/8 inch Ion
narrow tubular white corolla 6/1. inch long incluf
ing 5 ointed lobes hairy at end; many threadlike
sprea%ng stamens united into a tube near bsae,
whitish turning yellow, and light green toward
tip; and pistil of narrow ovary and threadlike
style.
The seed pod, short-pointed at both ends, con-
tains a row of several seeds and is swollen and de-