Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

MYRTLE FAMILY (MYRTACEAE)
187. Guashbara Eugenia aeruginea DC.
Gusibara, a tree of mountain forests, is distin-
ished by: (1) light gray to whitish bark, slight-
$rough and separating in irregular flakes; (2)
op osite elliptic long-pointed leaves 2?L2-4Vi
inc ?I es long and 1%-2% inches broad, with minute
gland dots; (3) whitish flowers nearly I/z inch
across with 4 petals and many spreading stamens,
in lateral clusters at base of leaves; and (4)
blackish-purple berry S/g-S/g inch long, elliptic or
rounded, with sepals at apex and reported to be
edible.
An ever reen tree 30-60 feet tall and 8-18 inches
in trunk 8 iameter. Inner bark is brown, \voody,
and slightly astringent and bitter. Twigs are
li ht brown.
%he green petioles are %-% inch long. Blades
are mostly short-pointed at base, slightly leathery
or thin, shiny green above and lighter green beneath,
and hairless or nearly so at maturity.
Flower clusters (racemes) are 1-2 inches long,
bearing several to many flowers on slender hai
stalks. Flower buds are greenish and hairy, wit 'K
2 short united scales or bracts at base. The flower
has a greenish hairy cu like base (hy anthium)
less than 4/s inch long, m 71 ich encloses t t' le inferior
ovary and bears 4 reenish rounded hairy sepals,
2 more than 4/s in% long and 2 much smaller, 4
white petals about inch long, many spreadin
stamens, and style s/16 inch long. In flo~t-er an 8
fruit nearly through the ear.
The sapwood is light i romn. The \\rood is described
as hard, strong, and heav . It is little
used exce t for posts and fuel. ~Kis species has
been liste i as suitable for shade and ornament.
In lower mountain forests of Puerto Rico, ascending
to nearly 3,000 feet elevation in the Central
Cordillem.
Pmua ~o~~sTs.-Carite, Luquillo, Toro Negro.
R~~a~.-cuba, His aniola, Puerto Rico, Dominica,
Martinique, St. bincent, and Trinidad. Reported
doubtfully from Jamaica nearly a century
ago.
OTHER COMBLON NAB~ES.-guhsarn (Dominican
Republic) ; comecar6 (Cuba) ; serrette guava
(Trinidad) ; brignolle (Haiti).
BOTANICAL ~mom.-EUgenja domingensis
Ber
T ~ S
genus, known in English as eugenia, is per-
haps the largest in number of species of small trees
or shrubs represented in Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands. The Spanish name hoja menuda
and English name stopper are applied to many
species. The group is characterized by flowers
mostly few in lateral clusters among the leaves, by
4 or 5 sepals which remain attached at the apex
of the usually rounded berry fruit, and by 4 or 5
white petals (red in an introduced species).
Besides the 3 native and 2 introduced species de-
scribed and illustrated here Britton and Wilson
(Botany of Porto Rico anh the Virgin Islands
6 : 33-42. 1925) described 22 other native species
and prepared a-key for their identification. These
species are listed below in alphabetical order by
scientific name with any distinctive common
names. Eugenia axilluria (Sm. ) Willd., grajo,
white-stopper eugenia ; E. bellonis Krug & Urban ;
E. bijEora (L.) DC. (E. Eancea Poir.) , pitangueira;
E. boqueronensis Ijritton ; E. borinpuenab Britton,
guayabota ; E. confusa DC., cieneguillo, redberry
eugenia; E. cordata (Sm.) DC.; E. corozalem6
Britton ; E. eggersii Kiaersk., guasibara ; E. flori-
bunda West; E. fragrans (Sw.) Willd. (Anamo-
mis fragrans (Sm.) Griseb.), guayabac6n ; E. Zig-
ustrina (Sm.) Willd., palo de muleta; E. montioola
(Sw.) DC., biriji ; E. myrtoides Poir. (E. buxifolia
(Sw.) Willd.) , anguilla, boxleaf eugenia ; E.
prooera (Sw.) Poir. ; E. pseudopsidium Jacq., quie-
brahaca; E. serrasuela Krug & Urban, serrazuela;
E. sessiliflora Vahl; E. sintmisii Kiaersk., murta;
E. stewardsonii Britton ; E. undemooodii Britton;
E. xerophytica Britton.
Cerezo de Cayena or pibnga (Eugenia unijEora
L.') , also called Surinam-cherry, is planted for its
fruit in St. Croix and St. Thomas and recorded
as escaping from cultivation. It has ovate shiny
dark green leaves 1-2 inches long, flowers mostly
single on long stalks, and bright red edible fruits
S/g inch in diameter.