Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

een used to stupefy fish. The seeds are toxic to
humans and livestock and have been employed in
poisoning animals and in medicine, but such use is
dangerous. Tl711en exploding, the mature seed cap-
sules may injure or frighten persons and livestock.
In some tropical areas, including southern Flor-
ida, the trees are planted for shade. However, the
oisonous sap makes the trees objectionable around
[ouses. Young trees prow rapidly but require
plenty of light. Windstorms damage the trees.
Common as a roadside shade tree and living
fence along the moist coast of Pnerto Rico, mostly
east of San Juan. Occasionally else\rhere on the
island, planted and wild. Through the Virgin
Islands scattered in moist forests and pastures ancl
planted along fence rows and for shade. St.
Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and Tortola.
RANGE.-Through 71Test Indies from Cuba and
Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago and on the con-
tinent from Costa Rica south to Peru, Bolivia,
Brazil, and Guianas. Planted also in soutl~ern
Florida and southern California, Bahamas, and
Dutch West Indies. Cultivated and occasionally
naturalized in Old World tropics.
OTHER COXEMON xanr~s.-javilla (Pucrto Rico) ;
SPURGE FAMILY (EUPHORBIACEAE)
monkey-pistol (Virgin Islands) ; habillo, habilla,
jabillo, jabilla (Spanish) ; salvadera, haba
(Cuba) ; tronador, nune (Panama) ; ceibo amarillo,
ceiba de Ieche, acuapar, tronador, castaiieto
(Colombia) ; ceiba, ceiba blanca, ceiba liabillo
(Venezuela) ; catahua (Peru) ; ochol16 (Bolivia) ;
Ilura (commerce) ; hura, hura-wood, possumwood,
sandbox, sandbox-tree (United States, English) ;
monkey-pistol, possumtree (English) ; monkey
dinner-bell (British Guiana) ; sablier (French) ;
arbre au diable (Haiti) ; bois du diable (Biartinique)
; zandltokerboom, sandbox-tree (Dutch
West Inclies) ; possentrie (Surinam) ; assac6
(Brazil, commerce) ; catiLuS, areeiro (Brazil).
The English name sandbox and French name
sablier refer to the early use of the hollowed out
shell of immature seed capsules to hold sand, employed
in blotting ink before blotters came into
use. Paper weights have been made by filling the
cttpsules n~ith lend, but the capsules may come
apart on drying.
A closely related species of jabillo (Burn polyand?-a
Baill.), differing in the white male flowers
with more numerous stamens in a column 3/8-5/8
inch long, is native from Bfesico to Costa Rica.
126. Cedro macho Hyeronima clusioides (TuI.) Muell.-Arg.
This medium-sized tree limited to Puerto Rico
is characterized by: (1) a very unifarm, dense,
bright green crown, pyramidal on young trees;
(2) twigs, petioles,%ranches of flower clusters, and
flowers coverecl with tiny dotlike hrown scales,
which are less conspicuous on both leaf surfaces;
(3) the elliptic leaves blunt-pointed or rounded at
both ends with wavy and often recurved edges,
slightly jointed and bent where the blade is attached
to the usually reddish-tinged petiole; and
(4) numerous minute yellowish-green flowers less
thnn 1/8 incl~ long in Intern1 branched clusters,
male and female on different trees (dioecious).
Evergreen tree to 70 feet in height and 3 feet
or more in trunk diameter. The bark varies from
scaly to fissured and rough, from -my to dark
brown, and becomes more tllnn 1/4 inch thick.
Inner bark is brown or recldish and slightly bitter.
Twigs are light brown.
The leaves are alternate on petioles %-I%
inches long and have slightly thickened blacles
21/24 inches long and 1%-3 inches broad. The
upper surface is green and slightly shiny, and the
lower surface paler and with midrib often hairy.
Flower clusters (panicles) 1-4 inches long bear
flowers almost stalkless along the branches. Male
flowers have a cup-shaped, 3-5-toothed scaly calyx,
a 11niry disk, and 3-5, usually 5, spreading stnmens.
Female flowers have a cup-shapecl scaly
calyx and a pistil with 2-celled ovary and 2 or 3
%forked styles. The nearly round fruits are less
than I/g inch long, reddish to blackish, slightly
fleshy, and 1-seeded. Flowering mainIy in summer
:ulcl fall and in fruit from late summer to winter.
The sap~~oocl is light brown, the heartwood rich
reclclish bro\vn. The wood is hard, heavy (specific
gravity 0.8), finishes well, and takes a good polish.
It is susce tible to attack by dry-\~oocl termites.
The \vood 7 as been employed both for furniture
and constr~~ct,ion. It is considered heavy for the
former use but is very attractive.
Distributed in Puei-to Rico chiefly in the moist
li~nestone and western lower Cordillera regions.
Puruac FORI.:STS.-Cambalache, Cnrite, Guajatacn,
Guilarte, llaricao, Rio Abajo, Toro Negro.
RANGE.-I