Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

SAPODILLA FAMILY (SAPOTACEAE)
Key to the 10 species illustrated (Nos. 206214)
A. Leaves with many straight, parallel side veins nearly at right angle to midrib.
B. Leaves small, less than 3% inches long ; fruite elliptic, inedible.
C. Leaves abruptly short-pointed; the lower sureace reddish brown, tlnely silky hairy-211. Mfcropholia
ohrueoohulloidea.
CC. ~eavei rounded or slightly notched at apex, green on both surfaces, becoming bairleaa or nearly -212.
dficropholle garclniaefolia.
BB. Leaves more than 8 inches long ; fruits round, edible.
D. Leaves rounded, blunt-pointed, or notched at apex; fruits about 1 inch in diameter-209. Mantlkara '
Bidentata.
DD. Leaves short-pointed; fruits 1M-S inches in diameter (sapodi1la)-2lO. Manilkara zapota.*
AA. Leaves with several side velns at acute angle to midrib, mostly curved at end.
Ill. Leaves mostly lance-shaped, long-pointed at both ends, the edges appearing finely wavy or wrinkled-208.
Dipholia aalicifolia.
EE. Leaves broader, moatly elliptic.
F. Leaves with short petiole less than % inch long.
G. Leaves elliptic, broadeet near middle, less than 5 inches long.
H. Leaves with lower surfaces grayish or silvery green and often silky hairy-205. Chryaophyllum
argenteum.
HH. Leaves with lower surfaces reddish brown or golden silky hairy.
I. Fruit round, several-seeded, 2-3 inches in diameter (star-apple)-208. Ohryeophyllum
cainlto.
11. Fruit elliptic, 1-seeded, about 96 inch long--21YI. Chiy~8opl~yllum olivt-e.
GG. Leaves narrowly elliptic, broadest beyond middle, large, 5-16 inches long-218. Pouterh muztijtm.
FF. Leaves with long slender petiole more than % inch long, often slightly winged toward apex; midrib
yell~w-214. Biderow tort foetldfaatritum.
205. Lechecillo
This tree with milky sap is characterized by:
(1) a spreading low crown ; (2) elliptic or oblon
leaves with lower surfaces slightly grayish or sil!
very green and often silky hairy and with lateral
veins straight and arallel, almost at right anglw
Y
to midrib and r eg arly spaced l/s-% inch apart;
(3) small greenish-yellow bell-shaped flowers
about s/16 inch long clustered at leaf bases; and
(4) oval or rounded, dark blue, edible berries s/8-
3/4 inch long.
An evergreen, usually small tree 15-25 feet hi h
and 4-8 inches in diameter. Bark on small trun s
is smoothish or much fissured, light brown or gray,
the inner bark pinkish and slight1 bitter. Young
twigs am greenish and finely lairy, becoming
bromn or gray. The bud composed of youngest
leaves is brown and finely hairy.
The alternate leaves have finely hairy petioles
Y*-3/g
inch long. Leaf blades are 21/24 inches long
and 1%-2% inches broad, mostly short-pointed at
apex and short-pointed or rounded at base, a little
thickened. The upper surface is peen or dark
green, slightly shiny, and hairless or nearly so.
The specific name, meaning silvery, describes the
lower leaf surface.
Few to several flowers mith a peculiar odor are
borne together on slender hairy stalks about inch
long. There are 5 rounded brownish-pen sepals
nearly 1/8 inch long, finely brown hairy ; a tubular
bell-shaped, greenish-yellow, finely hairy corolla
7i6 inch long, with 5 or 6 small rounded lobes; 5
or 6 small stamens on the corolla tube opposite
the lobes; and pistil mith hairy 6-8-celled ovary,
short style, and minutely lobed stigma. The fruit
f
Chrysophyllum argenteum Jacq.
contains 1 large shiny brown seed. Flowering and
fruiting probably through the year.
The wood with light brown sapwood is reported
to be hard, heavy, strong, tough, and durable.
Used chiefly for posts in Puerto Rico. Elsewhere
utilized in construction and carpentry.
Moist limestone and lower mountain forests in
Puerto Rico. Also in St. Thomas and Tortola.
PUBLIC FORESTS. - Guajataca, Luquillo, Rio
Abajo.
RANGE.--~u~~, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, St.
Thomas, Tortola, and near1 throughout Lesser
Antilles to Trinidad and To g ago. Also in Venezuela.
OTHER
COMMON NAJ~E~.--caimito
verde (Puerto
Rico) ; caimito blanco cimarrbn, caimitillo, caimito
cocuyo, carabana Dominican Republic);
macnnabo (Cuba) ; mi \ ky-iron (Montserrat) ;
star-apple (Antigua, St. Vincent) ; balata chien
(St. Lucia) ; wild kaimit (Trinidad) ; petit
cni'mite, ti cai'mite (Haiti) ; bois glu, bois kaki,
ca'imitier bois (Guadeloupe) ; bois bouis, petit
bollis (Guadeloupe, Martinique) .
BOTANICAL GYNONYM. - Chrysophyllum glabrum
Jacq.
Two more species of this genus are native, in
nddition to the 3 illustrated here. Caimito de perro
(ChrysophyUw pauciflomm Lam.) is known
only from dry areas-of Puerto Rico, Vieques, St.
Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. It differs from
the species described above in the nearly hairless
leaves shiny above, the flower mith &celled ovary,
and the sharp-pointed, oblong fruit 3/g-3/q inch
long.