Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

and 31h-5 inches wide, short-pointed at apex arid Cuba and Hispaniola, has broadly ovate to elliptic
heart-shaped at base, red flower clusters, and red or rounded lentliery leaves mostly 2-7 inches long
flolvers mlth stalks 3/la inch or more in length. nncl inclies wide, blunt or ronnclec\ nt apex,
Coccoloba costata C. TVri rht (C. rupicola Ur- rreen flower clusters, and green fio\vers wit11 stalks
ban), rare in Puerto Rico lk ut kno\vn also fronr kess than %o inch long.
BUCKWHEAT FAMILY (POLYGONACEAE)
Coccoloba pubescens L.
A distinctive medium-sized tree of nioist mom- x6 ilicll long united into a basal tube nearly as
tail1 forests in ceut~xl and western Puerto Rico, long; and r~idimentary pistil coniposed of light
easily recognized by: (1) vely large nearly round green ovary $Go inch long and 3 s~iinll wliitisli
leaves 1-1s feet in diameter (often nearly 3 feet, styles. Female flotvers hare bnsril tube, 6 calyx
on rapidly growing sprouts), broader tlian long, lobes. minute nonfutrctional stamens, and pistil
heart-shaped mid almost stalkless, tliiclz, stiff, nnd wit11 ovary ]/lo incli long and 3 styles.
lentliery, tippearing wrinkled with lateral veins Wlien fruiting, tlie axis curves do\vnward from
deeply sunken, and finely hairy betieatli ; (2) stout. tlie xveiglit of tlie many fruits ~vliicli nre green and
twigs ringed and enlarged nt nodes, bearing at, pinkish tinged ~vlien immature, consisting of the
base of lenf a sheath (ocren), split into brown enlarged basal tube (hypanthium) enclosing 1
finely hairy rounded lobes about X-M inch long sliiny brown 3-angled seed (akene) 9/ra inch long.
and appearing double; (3) numerous snlnll liglit Tlie sapwood is whitish, and the lienrt\vood redgreen
flowers on short stalks along a stont terminnl dish bro~vn wit11 pores ninrked by dnrk gum. Tlie
axis; and (4) rounded fruits 9{6-1h inch in very hard, lienvy wood (specific grtivity more tlian
diameter,
1.0) is durable and employed for construction and
An evergreen tree to 70 feet in keight, the trnnlz fnlmiture. It is resistant to attack by dry-wood
beconling 2 feet or more in diameter and sliglit ly termites.
buttressed \vlien large, with sprending cro\vn com- -1s a slow-g~o~ving ornan~entnl for special plantposed
of few branches and few leaves. Young in@, this dist~nct ire tree has been introduced spartrees
and sprouts are erect and unbrnnclied. Tlie ingly in soutl~ern Florida and Cubn.
gray bark IS smootliish and sliglitly fissured, the In t lie moist limestone forest region and less
inner bark light brown and sliglitly bitter. Tlie colrimonly in tlie veste ern half of the lower Cordilstout
gray ttvlgs have raised clots (lenticels) and lera region of I'uerto Rico.
are green nncl minutely hairy ~vllen young. Ter- PUBLIC: FOI~EBTB, - Gunjatnca, lfnricao, Kio
mintil buds nre short, rounded, brown, and finely Abajo.
hairy.
R,IN~E.-Hispnnioln, Puerto Rico, Barbuda,
The alternnte leares have stout green petioles Antip~a, Alontsernlt, Xeris, Guadelo~~pe, Dominiabout
S/g incli long, so short tliat the bases appear c:~, Jfartinique, St. Lucia, and Barbtidos. Planted
to be clasping. Blades are roundecl at apex, not in southern Florida :tnd Cubn.
toothecl at edges, above green and shiny and be- OTI~EII GOJIJION s.~~r~s.-Iiojalicl~a (Dominican
neath yello~v green with tlie network of veins Republic) ; grnnclleaf seagrape (United States) ;
raised tilid prominent. Leaves of mature trees lcii tlier-cotit-t rco (13:lrbndos) ; raisinier gmndesfouncl
in Hispaniola are reported to be much feuilles, bois rouge, nloral6n (French T'Trest
smaller, ns sliort as 3-4 inches in length.
Indies).
Tlie ntlrro\v flower cluster (rnceme) 5-8 inclies 13curas1c,11. ~~~oxriu.-Coccolobn gmndifolia
long consists of a slig1:lltly ciirved liglnt green a ~is Jncq.
l/s-% inch in diameter, minutely hairy, bearlng -4 related rare species called orteg6n (Coccoloba
flowers about 3,/,0 inch across, tisually 2 or 3 to- ru!loso Desf.) is now knot\-n only from the south
gether on slender light peen stnlks about % inch slope of the 1,uquillo Biountains but formerly was
long. Flo\vers are male ancl female on different present also ~ietlr Snn Juan. This small tree has
trees (dioecious). The male flower consists of ri tlie trunk unbrr~nclled or with very few brnnches,
light green CII like bnsal tube (liypanthium) similar very large ne:irly rownd lenves 1-11h feet
inch long ruitl 6 road with 6 nenrly round wliit isll- in diameter but li~lirless, and reddisli flower clusgreen
cnlyx lobes '/lo long; 8 slender ~vliite stnlnens ters and fruits.