Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

t.hers protruding; and very narrow finely hairy
pistil 2% inches long with stalked ovary and narron7
style.
The pod resembles a string of beads in its elliptic
swellings about sh inch across outside each seed
and constrictions between these seeds. The curved
opened pods with seeds attached remain on the tree
after maturity. Several oblong seeds nearly s/s
inch long are very conspicuous when exposed on
tlle opened edges of the thin-walled pod. Flowering
in winter and spring (January to April) and
maturing fruit in spring ( April-May ) .
The mood is \vhitish, soft, lightweight (specific
gravity 0.3), and weak. It is seldom used for
other than fuel in Puerto Rico. Elsewhere it has
been employed as a substitute for cork and for
carving toys and figures.
Posts root readily, so the tree is a common live
fencepost, chiefly in the moist coastal and lower
Cordillera repjons. Also in Virgin Islands. The
plants are propa~ted also by cutt.ings. Besides
living fenceposts and hedges, the trees have been
grown as support for the vines in vanilla planta-
tions. However, severe attacks by defoliating in-
sects make the species undesirable for this pur-
pose. Young branches and lextves are a favorite
food of rabbits. Cnttle eat the young t.\r.igs and
leaves. Because of the showy flowers this species
is grown for ornament in addition to shade and
has been introduced into Florida.
I11 Guatemala the flower buds, young leaves, and
young twigs are cooked and eaten like string beans,
though it is thought that eating quantities induces
sleep and may be injurious. The poisonous seeds
of this and other species have been strung into
bracelets, necklaces, and novelties. Though per-
haps toxic or narcotic, parts of the tree have been
LEGUME FAMILY
83. Bucare, swamp immortelle
PEA SUBFAMILY (LO? 'OIDEAE; FABACEAE)
This exotic tree, found in pastures and along
roadsides in northeastern Puerto Rico, is charac-
terized by : (1) scattered small spines on twigs and
stout spines on branchw and trunk, at least when
young; (2) alternate leaves with 3 slightly leath-
ery leaflets elliptic to ovate in shape, rounded or
short- ointed at apex and base, shiny yellow green
to dar R green above and whitish green and finely
hairy beneath; (3) numerous clusters of large and
broad, showy, pea-shaped, orange or salmon-
colored flowers, several erect near the end of a
droopin axis; and (4) flattened pod 6-10 inches
long an f 5/R inch wide, md containing 3-12 brown-
is11 or blackish poisonous seeds. The whitish un-
dersisfaces of leaves make the tree recognizable at
a distance.
A deciduous tree 30-50 feet high and 2 feet in
trunk diameter, sometimes larger, with broad
crown of whitish-pen foliage. The bark is light
employed in home remedies. It is reported that
the crushed bmnches serve as fish poison and that
the bark yields a yellow dye.
RAN~E.--Soutllern Mexico and Guatemala to
Ptlnama and Colombia. Also in Cuba and Hispaniola,
perhaps introduced long ago, and naturalized
in Puerto Rico. Planted in southern Florida
and Virgin Islands and in the Old World tropics.
OTHER COJIMON ~~JI~s.-rnachetB, bucayo enano,
l~ucayo sin espinas (Puerto Rico) ; machete (Virgin
Islands) ; pjiibn (Dominican Republic) ;
piii6n de pito, pinon de cerca, bucare (Cuba) ; pito,
pith (Guatemda, Honduras, El Salvador) ;
miclle, mnchetillos, coralillo (Guatemala) ; eleqneme
(Nicaragua) ; gallito, pernilla de
(Panama) ; pito de peronilla, peronilla, peronio,
~ntltn ainirin (Colombia) : coralbean (English) ;
brucal (Haiti).
Machete, a common name, is suggested by the
flowers with standard petal shaped like a. machete
blade and the calyx forming the handle. The
common name piiiSn de pito in Cuba refers to the
use of the flowers by small boys in making whistles
or flutes. The corolla placed in a hollow petiole
serves as a reed.
Besides the 3 species described and illustrated
here, 2 other species of bucare are native,
and a few others have been introduced. PiiiBn
espinoso (Erythrina e gerd Krukoff & Moldenke;
synonym E. hom.ida i ggers, not DC.) , native only
in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, is distinished
by the spines on the veins of leaflets and
$ the narrow red flowers nearly 2 inches long.
Another s ecies, known as coraltree or common
coralbean ( $ rythrina corallodendrum. L.), has
leaves nearly spineless and narrow coral-red
flowers 2-234 inches long.
(LEGUMINOSAE)
Erythrina glauca Willd.*
brown, smoothish but becoming rough and shallowly
fur,rowed. Small trunks have stout spines
3/s-3/4 inch high, a few spines or marts often persisting
on large trunks. Inner bark is as much
as 1 inch thick, light brown, soft, and almost tasteless
or slight1 bitter. The stout twigs are light
?'
green and fine y hairy when young, becoming gray,
with scattered shyrp spines 1/8 lnch or more m
length and with ralsed leaf scars.
The leaves are 8-12 inches long, the li ht
round petioles 2-4 inches long, enlarg ef at %.'Y ase
Leaflets have stout stalks 3/s inch long, with round
green glands x6 inch in diameter at base. Leaflet
blades are 2%-6 inches long and 1y2-3% inches
midq, not toothed on edges, m vertical position or
fold~ng together at night.
Flower clustars (mcemes) are 4A inches long,
the finely hairy axls drooping and bearing erect
flowers near the end on stout, dark red and green-