Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

1
(Costa Rica) ; totumo, totumbo, calabazo (Pnna-
ma, Colombia) ; totumo, taparo, camasa, giiire,
cucharo (Venezuela) ; mate, pilche (Ecuador) ;
huingo, pati, cayiera, tutumo (Peru); common
calabnsh-tree, calabash-tree, calabash (United
States, English) ; calebasse, calebassier (French) ;
calbbs, calbis rondo Dutch West Indies) ; kale-
bas, kalabassenboom Surinam) ; cuit6 (Brazil).
Higiierito (C?*escentia linearifolia Miers) is a
233. Jacaranda
related small tree of dry coastal areas mainly in
southwestern Puerto RICO, St. Thomas, and St.
John, and in St. Martin. It has narrow, linear,
shiny, stiff leaves 3/q-2% inches long and less than
3/8 inch wide, long-pointed and often spiny-tipped,
crowded ; greenish tubular flowers about ll/z inches
long; and round or elliptic fruit 1%-2 inches long.
The third native species is a vinelike shrub of
western L'uerto Rico.
BIGNONIA FAMILY (BIGNONIACEAE)
This handsome introduced tree is occasionally
planted for its lar e clusters of numerous beautiful
blue-violet be1 f -shaped flowers 1%-13/4 inches
long and irregularly 5-lobed borne in spring. The
attractive dark green fernlike leaves are opposite
and twice pinnate (bipinnate), about 9-18 inches
long and 5-8 inches broad, wit11 many small lancesha
ed leaflets S/e-l/2 inch long and bristle-tipped.
Po B s are dark brown, nearly round and flattened,
about 2 inches long and 5/s inch thick, bordered by
n narrow wing.
A deciduous medium-sized tree 25-40 feet high
and 8-12 inches in trunk diameter, with spreading
crown of thin, delicate folia . The bark is
smoothish but becoming sli p ltly fissured and
rough, very li ht brown. finer bark is light
brown, thin an f bitter. The stout twigs with light
corky dots (lentieels) are peen when young, turnin
light gray.
Laves consist of a. yellow-green axis and about
20-40 paired lateral axes ( pinnae) , each with about
19-45 stalkless leaflets, also paired except for the
larger end one. Leaflets are short-pointed at apex
and oblique at base, not toothed on edge!, dull dark
green on upper surface and pale light green
beneath.
The terminal, much branched flower clusters
(panicles) are about 8-12 inches long and 6-8
inches across, with slender, forkin branches. The
spreading flowers have short stn F ks or none and
are only faintly fragrant. Calyx is small cu -
like, greenish,, l/8 inch long, and 5-toothed; t R e
tubular blue-nolet corolla is swollen on 1 side and
abruptly narrowed near base, about l%-lS/q inches
Jacaranda mimosifolia D. Don*
long, with 5 unequal spreading wavy-margined
lobes S/q-1 inch across, minutely hairy on outside
and on lobes; 4 whitish curved stamens about 'l/z
inch long in 2 pairs of difierent lengths and 1
Ion er sterile stamen inserted within corolla tube;
an d on a greenish disk the purplish pistil 7/s inch
long, composed of 2-celled ovary, slender style,
and 2-lobed stigma. One corolla lobe is much
lonpr than the others and opposite a white spot
inside the tube.
One or 2 pods (capsules) develop from a flower
cluster. They split o en along the edges and contain
many very thin 1 ark bm\m seeds, each about
S/p by. x6 inch in size, includin the 2 trans arent
wings. Flowering from ear f y spring to ? une,
the fruits maturing in spring and early summer.
The sapwood is I~ght brown and soft. The wood
is not used locally.
This species is planted for ornament in Puerto
Rico and St. Croix but is not common. Propa-
ated by cuttings and seeds. It is a honey plant.
fkhen the trees are not in flower, the foliage is
also attractive.
RANGE.-Native of northwestern Argentina.
Planted in West Indies, southern Florida and
southern California, and from Mexico to Brazil.
OTHER COJfMON NAB~ES.-flamb0yh azul
(Puerto Rico) ; fern-tree (Virgin
jacaranda (Spanish) ; frambogb azull$!%] i
tarco (Bolivia) ; jacarandii, tarco (Argentina) ;
.
'acaranda (United States, English) ; flamboyant
bleu (~artinique)
BOTANICAL ~~~o~~rd.--Jacaranda aczctifilia
auth., not Humb. b Bonpl.