Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

RUE FAMILY (RUTACEAE)
Key to the 9 species illustrated (Nos. 95403)
A. Leaves opposite, with usually 3 (sometimes 1 or 5) long-pointed leaflets-95. Antyris elemifera.
Ah. Leaves alternate.
B. Leaves simple.
C. Leaves elliptic, with mnny minute rounded teeth on margin, petiole usually jolnted with blade; flowers
large, white; fruit a rounded or elliptic juicy berry (citrus).
D. Leaves small, 1%-3 inches long; fruit elliptic 1%-2% inches long (lime)-%. Citma aurantijolia.*
DD. Leaves and fruit larger.
E. Petiole broadly winged.
F. Leaves mostly long-pointed at apex; fruit round, roughened, orange, bitter, inedible (sour
orange)-97. Citrus aurantiirnt.*
FF. Leaves rounded at both ends (or blunt-pointed at apes) ; fruit round, smooth, large, pale
yellow grapefruit-00. Citrue paradiai*
Em. Petiole almost wingless or narrowly winged.
G. Petiole almost wingless; fruit elliptic, blunt-pointed or tubemled at both ends, the surface
often rough and wrinkled, yellow (lemon)-98. Citrus litno~r.*
GG. Petiole narrowly winged ; fruit round, smooth, orange (meet orange)-100. Citrus sinemis.*
CC. Leaves with margin not toothed, S~metimes sliglltly wavy, petiole not jolnted with blade; flowers and
fruit very small-103. Zanthozylirm n&onophyllum.
BB. Leaves pinnate.
H. Leaflets 6-9, elliptic, margin witbout teeth or very finely wavy; not spiny-101. Zanthoxyhtn fiavrrnl.
HH. Leaflets 7-19, oblong to lanceshaped, nlargin very finely wavy ; spiny-102. ZantAox#knr martiniceme.
95. Tea, sea amyris Amyris elemifera L.
A small tree or shrub characterized by: (1)
dense rounded crown 02 compact pale green foliage;
(2) opposite compound leaves with usually 3
(sometimes 1 or 5) ovate or lance-shaped, longpointed
leaflets 1-2% inches lon and s-11/2
lnclles broad, slightly leathery, slig ltly shiny yel-
low een, and with many gland dots; (3) many
smalrgreenish-white, *-parted, spreading flowers
about 3/16 inch across; (4) mnny small round black
fruits about inch in diameter; and (5) twigs,
leaves, and fruits with slight citrus odor when
crushed.
An evergreen tree commonly 10-20 feet high and
3-6 inches in trunk diameter. The bark is smoothish
and gray, becoming rough with deep furro~vs
and rectangular plates. Inner bark light brown,
with slight citrus spicy taste. The twigs are yellow
peen when young, becoming gray.
The leaves are 24 inches long. The leaflets, on
slender stalks 1/8-% inch long, are short-pointed
or rounded at base, the edges without teeth or
minutely wavy.
Flower clusters ( anicles) are terminal and lat-
eral, much branche c! ,I$$-2 lnches long and broad.
The short-stalked flowers have a minute 4-lobed
calyx; 4 gland-dotted spreading petals; 8 stamens;
and pistil of 1-celled ovary and broad
stigma. The fruits (drupes) are cove-red with a
bloom, gland-dotted, with thin flesh and 1 brown
seed. Flowering and fruiting irregularly during
the year, recorded in flower from March to
October.
The sapwood is whitish, and the heartwood light
yellow. The wood is very resinous with strong
odor, very hard, fine-grained, heavy (spe~ific~gravity
1.0-1.1), and strong. It takes a good polish, is
very durable, and definitely repellent to dry-mood
termites.
F
Used chiefly for posts in Puerto Rico. Forinerlv
also emnloved for furniture and fuel. If
avsifable in qt'ia6ities and larger size, the w x
might be valuable. As common names in different
fanpages mdicate, torches are made from the
resinous wood. The tree yields a fragrant resin.
Widelv distributed in thickets of the drv limestone
arid dry coastal regions of ~uerto Rico.
Also in Mona, Desecheo, Icncos, Culebm, Vieques,
St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and Anegada.
On Mona the species is becoming less common
owing to extensive browsing of its bark b goats.
Pon1.1~ FOR~~TS.-Guajataca, Gusnica, Juda
MUNICIPALITIES WHERE ESPECIALLY COMMON.-
26,28, 55, 75.
RANQE.-Central and southern Florida includ-
ing Florida Keys Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, His-
paniola, Puerto kico and Virgin Islands, and
Lesser Antilles from St. Martin to St. Vincent,
Grenadines, and Grenada. Also Central America
in Guatemala, British Honduras Honduras, and
El Salvador. Reported from lr&ezuela, appar-
ently in error.
OTIIER COMMON NAXLIES.--C 11 a b i 1 1 t~, (Puerto
Rico) ; candlewood, torchrvood (Virgin Islands) ;
guaconejo, palo de tea (Dominican Republic) ;
cuabilla, cuaba de costa (Cuba) ; chilillo, pimienta,
tnray (Honduras) ; roldsn, meMn (El Salavdor) ;
sea nmyris, torchwood, candlewood (United
States) ; white torch (Bahamas) ; amyris-wood,
torchmood (Jamaica) ; waiki-pine (Bntish Hon-
duras) ; bois chandelle (French) ; bois chandelle
blanc, bois pini, bois flambeau (Guadeloupe) .
The S anlsh name tea means torch. Thls is not
the shru k' called tea in English.
Teilla (Amy& bakamifera L.), a related spe-
cies of south\vestm Puerto Rico. has 3-7 leaflets
and larger elliptic fruits 1/4-1/2 inch long.