Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

BUCKTHORN FAMILY (RHAMNACEAE)
146, Mabi, soldierwood Colubrina reclinata (L'Hk.) Brongn.
This small tree or shrub of dry areas is characterized
by: (1) hely hairy brown twigs; (2) thin,
elliptic leaves 1-3 inches long and lh-llh inches
broad, short-pointed at apex and rounded at base,
with the lateral veins curved and prolon ed near
margins, peen and hairless qn u per sur ace, and
pale green and minutely hairy neath; (3) the
L f
small, spreading greenish 5-parted flowers nearly
9iG inch across, several in almost stalkless clusters
at bases of leaves; and (4) the rounded, slightly
$-angled, reddish-brown seed capsules 1/4 inch in
diameter, 3-seeded.
Evergreen, usually 10-15 feet liigli and less than
4 inches in trunk diameter, with spreadin crown
of thin foliage. The orange-brown fark is
smoothish on small trunks but becomes fissured,
splitting off in thin scales. Inner bark is light
brown and bitter. The twigs are slender.
The alternate leaves have hairy etioles 1/4-l/z
inch long. The blades commonly lave 9 brown
gland dots on the margin near base. I'
Flower clusters about 1/ inch across, hairy.
Ei~ch flower has n short cuplite base (hypanthium)
on which are borne 5 spreading, pointed, greenish
sepals more than l/lG inch long, miry on outside,
and 5 smaller, narrow, yellow petals folded around
the 5 opposite stamens; the istil has a 3-celled
ovary covered by the broad dis P r but with style and
3 stigmas protruding.
Seed capsules ham a cuplike base (hypanthium)
in lowest third and split a art from the base to
release the shin brownish-
I
B lack elli tic seeds s/l
. In ower from July to &ember and
inch in fruit lonf rom July to January.
The sapwood is light brown, and the heartwood
dark brown. The wood is hard, heavy (specific
ravity 0.8), strong, and reported to be durable.
k is used on1 for posts in Puerto Rico.
From the % ark is produced the popular fermented
drink "mabf." Elsewhere decoctions from
tlie bitter bark and the leaves have been used in
local medicines. The plants have been grown as
ornamentals in southern Florida.
Thickets and woods in the dry coastal and dry
limestone re ions of southwestern Puerto Rico.
Also in Cule f ra, St. Groix, St. Thomas, St. John,
Tortola, and Anegada.
PUBLICI FOREST-/\-~&nic~.
RANOE.-Southern Florida including Florida
Keys, Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and Lesser
Antilles south to St. Vincent. Also in southern
i\.Iexico (Vemruz and Yucatin and Guatemala.
OTHER COJ~B~ON NAXEB.-pa 1 o amargo, mabi
(Dominican Republic) ; ja ajabico, carbonem de
costa, cnrbonero (Cuba) ; so 9 dierwood, naked-wood
(Umted States) ; smooth snake-bark (Bahamas) ;
bois mabf, bois de fer (Haiti) ; bois mabi, mambee
(Guadeloupe) .