Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

authority on the Rorn of .Jamaica wrote 2 centuries
;\go tllttt. this species \vns int,rocluced there from the
cant inen t.
I C~OZIJIOS S.\JIES.-:lronla nmericnnn
(I'nerto Rico) : ttlgnrrobo (Virgin Islands) ; bnytchonc\n
(l~on~inicnn Repnblic) ; mesquite,
pa116, nt~nbri,~~, nlgilrrobo del Rrnsil ($i:j)i
~~~ezq~~ite, cr~tziniec, nlgitrrobo (Jiesico) ; nncascol
(Guntemaln) ; nlgnrrobo (Hondurns) ; cnrb6n
(El Snlvndor) ; ncncin de Cntnrina (Nicarng~n) ;
LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE)
t~romo, ~nnncn-cnbnllo (Pnnnma) ; trupillo, mancacnbnllo
(Colombin) ; cuji yn ue, cuji negro, cuji
cntw.;i, cnji, y~iclne (lrenezueln 7 ; mesquite (United
Stntes, Br~httm:~s) ; cnshnm (Jamaica) ; mesquitt
reo (Tri nitlnd ) ; bnyahon, bnynrone (Haiti) ;
indjn, qui, cuidn, kuigi (Dutch West Indies).
13or~slc-.\~, s~sosu~rs.-A' e l t oc m a julijlora
(Sw.) Rn f., I'ro~oyix ciiil'en.ds nuth., not P. chimxix
(Jiol.) Stuntz. The lnst is n closely related
species of Chile nnd Argentina to Peru.
CASSIA SUBFAMILY (CAESALPINIOIDEAE; CAESALPINIACEAE)
Key to the 10 species illustrnted (Nos. 71-80)
A. Leavea simple or of 2 leaflets.
R. Iaavecl simple, with 2 rounded lobes at apex-71. Rauhii~ia ntonandra.*
BB. Leaves of 2 leaflets, paired, long- or short-pointed at apex-76. Hl)menaea courbarfl.
U. Leaves compound, of several to many leaflets.
0. I.eares once pinnate.
D. Leaflets mostly more than 2 Inches long, ovate and broadeat toward base.
E. Leaflets with short, green stalks jg-% inch long, without black dot-72. Casefa @tula.*
EE, Leaflets with very short, red stalks so inch long, with scattered raied black dots on lower surface-
70. StalrIia nlOtl08pOf~tU.
DD. Lenfleb less than 2 inches long, mostly oblong, with edges nearly pnmllel,
F. Leaflets symmetrical.
O. Lcnflets short-pointed or rounded at apex-73. Caaefa favantca.*
GQ. Leaflets rounded with bristle-tip at apex-74. Cassia afarnca..
FF. Leaflets oblique at base and slightly asymmetrical--80. Tantarindue indfca.*
CC. Leave6 blpinnate.
H. Leaves consisting of a spine and 1 or 2 pairs of drooping yellow-green strips (lateral axes) W inch broad
benring numerous amall leaflets ?&+c inch long, which shed early-77. Parkineonia aculeata.*
HH. Leaves regularly bmnched, not spiny, with 10-30 pain, of lateral axes (pinnae), each with nnmerane
leaflets and featherlike.
I. I&afleLq less than 9g inch long; young twlgi~ and leaf axe8 greenish. tlnely hairy-76. Delonia reg&.*
11. Leaflets %-% inch long; young twi@ and leaf axes with dense coat of reddish-brown hairs-78.
Peltophorum inernte.*
7L Mariposa, butterfly bauhinia Bauhinia monundra Karz*
This cultivated ornamental small tree is easily
recognized b : (1) the odd somewhat rounded
lenves divice8 nhut $$ their iength into 2 rounded
lobes sliglltly suggesting n cow's hoof nnd with 13
or 11 rndint~ng main veins from the heart-shaped
base; (2) the very Inrge and showy flowers 21h-3
inches across, with 5 slender-stalked, narrow,
spoon-shn ed pink petnls dotted red (1 petal
~nostly re d ) ; and (3) the flat pods nbout 8 inches
long, 1 inch broad, and l/s inch thick, I\-it11 n long
nnrrolv point ttt npes, twisting ns they split open.
A smnll ever reen tree or sometimes a shrub
growing 10-80 eet hi h and to 1 foot in tn~nk
dinmeter. The brnnc h es nre widely spreading.
Bnrk of smttll trunks is smooth with dots (lentieels)
nnd whitish gray. Inner bnrk is whitish and
tasteless. Young twigs nre finely hairy.
The nlternnte lenves hnre long hniry petioles
1-2 inches long. Iknf blndes are mostly 2-4 inches
Ion nnd 241h inches brond or sometimes larger,
witf +he edges not toothed nnd n short bristle 1/8
inch long between tlie 2 lobes, very thin, the upper
surface light green and l~nirless, and the lower surface
pale gray green and finely hairy.
Flotver clustels (racemes) are terminnl and unbranched,
\\-it11 few male and bisexual flo~rers on
The pods split open mith force, twisting into 2
tlrts nlid scnttering the many seeds. The shiny
knok seeds nre elliptic, flat, and H inch long.
Flowering and fruitlng nearly through the year.
The sapwood is whitish and hard, and 6h0 heart-
wood recorded ns brown. Wood used only for
fuel in Puerto Rico. One use reported in Jamaica
is its 11 roadside fence plant; after pollading, the
long plinble branches nre arrnnged into the frame-
work of a fence.
Plnnted in Puerto Rico for the large ornamen-
tal Rowers suggestive of orchids or butterflies and
the odd-shaped lenves. Escaped from cultivation