Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

courbaril (commerce, English) ; curbaril, caguai-
rln, algarrobo de las Antillas (Cuba) ; guapinol,
cua.pinol, copinol (Mexico, Central America) ;
papinal, nazareno (Colombia) ; corobore (Vene-
zuela) ; copal (Ecuador) ; courbaril (Peru) ; lo-
cust (British West Indies, British Guiana
7Vest-Indian-locust, stinking-toe (J a m a i c a
stinking-toe (Trinidad) ; locust, guapinol (British
Honduras) ; courbaril, simiri, locust (British
Guiana) ; courbaril (Guadeloupe, Martinque,
French Guiana) ; locust (Dutch West Indies) ;
LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE)
rode locus, locus, loksi (Surinam) ; jutahy, jatob&
(Brazil).
The specific epithet is taken from an American
Indian name, courbaril. Early Spanish settlers
in the New World ve the name algtxrrobo to this
and other trees of t f? e legume family suggestive of
the related Old World carob tree with the same
Spanish name (Ceratonia siliqua L.*). The lab
ter, introduced experimentally in St. Croix, has
pinnate leaves with PI0 elliptic leaflets and flat
pods 4-12 inches long with edible pulp.
CASSIA SUBFAMILY (CAESALPINIOIDEAE; CAESALPINIACEAE)
77. Palo de rayo, Jerusalem-thorn Parkinsonia aculeata L.*
Small spiny tree characterized by : (1) smooth long-pointed pods contain usually 2-5 oblong dark
yellow-green or blue-green bark, branches, and brown seeds 94 inch long (5,600 ton pound). With
twigs; (2) specialized leaves consisting of a ter- flowers and pods throughout the year.
minal spine and 2 or 4 long yellow-green drooping The sapwood is yello~visli and thick, and heartstrips
bearing numerous small leaflets l/s-3/la inch wood li ht or reddish brown. The wood is modlong
which shed early; (3) sliowy golden-yellow erately Rard and heavy (specific gravity O.6), and
flowers 3/4 inch or more across the 5 petals, in loose brittle, used locally only for fuel.
lateral clusters (racemes) 3-8 inches long; and Sometimes grown in fences and as n spiny living
(4) brown pod 2-4 inches long and 1/4 inch or more hedge, The foliage and pods are browsed by livein
diameter, narrowed between the seeds.
stock. Elsewhere an infusion of the laves hns
Shrub or smrrll tree 10-20 feet tall, often brnnch- served in lionle medicines.
ing near ground, with very open crown of spread- Often planted as an ornamental along roads and
ing branches and very thin drooping foliage, green escaping from cultivation or nutumlized, chiefly
throughout the year, though appearing leafless in the dry coastal region of Puerto Rico. Also in
nfter tlie leaflets fall. The bark is smooth and Vieques, St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola,
very thin, yellow p n or blue green but becoming iuid Virgin Gorda.
brown and fissured or scaly on large trunks. RANGE.-Widely distributed in tropical Amer-
Inner bark is green and slightly bitter. The slen- ica, native of Texas, Arizona, and Mexico and posder,
sliuhtly zigzag, green twigs are minutely sibly elsewhere but cultivated, spreading, and
llrliry wxen young. They have paired sllort spines becoming natu~-nlizecl from southern United States
(stipules) at nodes bordering the larger spine (Florida and Georgia to Texas and California)
3/8;% inch or more in length, which ends the leaf sorith to Argentina and in tlie Old World tropics.
nsls. These spines may remain on the branches Also throughout \Vest Indies, probably introand
trunk in groups of 8 or singly.
duced, and planted in Berumda.
The a1tern:tte leaves actually are twice pinnate O'~'I~ER COJIIION NAMES.--fl0r de rayo, flor de
(bipinnate), consisting of a very short main axis rnn o (Puerto Rico) ; lluvia de oro, acacia, acacia
ending in a spine and 1 or 2 pairs of drooping Int- de 7 os rn:lsones, cambrbn, siempre-viva (Dominican
era1 axes 8-12 inches long and l/s inch broad, flat, Republic) ; junco mnrino, espinillo (Cuba) ; ~plo;
and slightly thickened. Each drooping strip or l-ercle (Mexico) ; retama (Mexico to Colom in) .
strearnor bears 20-30 pairs of thin, oblong, green, srllfato, sulfatillo, palo de ray0 (Guatemala) ;
tlerid~~ous leaflets nrld functions as n leaf nfter the si~lft~to (El Salvador) ; acacia de agiiijote (Nica-
leaflets fall.
Several sliglltly beanlike fragrant flowers are
borne 011 slender stnlks. There is a short calyx
tube with 6 narrow yellow-brown lobes s/le inch
long, turned clownwiurd; 5 nearly round petals
:%-*A inch long, yellow, tin ed wit111 omnge, and
1l:tiry at base, tile upper pet3 sliglltly larger, red-
spotted, and turning red in \\-itliering; 10 stamens
M inch long with green filnmcnts and brown
:111thers : nncl reddis11-tinged pistil inch long
with hairy 1-celled ovary and slender style. The
rrlgua) ; yabo, sauce, sauce espino, goajiro (Colom-
bia); espinillo, pauji, cuji extranjero (Vene-
zuela) ; mataburro (Peru) ; cina-cina (Uruguay,
Argentina) ; Jerusalem-thorn, horsebean, palo-
vertle, Mexican paloverde, retama (United
States) ; .Jerusiilem-thorn (English) ; horsebean
(Ruhainns) ; Jerusalem (British Guiana) ; madam
nxiz, madam yass (Haiti) ; adte-boeuf (Guads
loupe, Martinique) ; boonchi strena, wonder-tree
(Dutch West Indies).