RUE FAMILY (RUTACEAE) 



Key to the 9 species illustrated (Nos. 95-103) 

 A. Leaves opposite, with usually 3 (sometimes 1 or 5) long-pointed leaflets — 95. Amyris elemifera. 

 AA. Leaves alternate. 

 B. Leaves simple. 



C. Leaves elliptic, with many minute rounded teeth on margin, petiole usually jointed with blade; flowers 

 large, white; fruit a rounded or elliptic juicy berry (citrus). 



D. Leaves small, l%-3 inches long; fruit elliptic l%-2yo inches long (lime) — 96. Citrus aurantifolia* 

 DD. Leaves and fruit larger. 



E. Petiole broadly winged. 



F. Leaves mostly long-pointed at apex; fruit round, roughened, orange, bitter, inedible (sour 



orange) — 97. Citrus aurantium* 

 FF. Leaves rounded at both ends (or blunt-pointed at apex) ; fruit round, smooth, large, pale 

 yellow grapefruit — (Kt. Citrus paradisi* 

 EE. Petiole almost wingless or narrowly winged. 



G. Petiole almost wingless ; fruit elliptic, blunt-pointed or tubercled at both ends, the surface 



often rough and wrinkled, yellow (lemon) — !KS. Citrus limon* 

 GG. Petiole narrowly winged; fruit round, smooth, orange (sweet orange) — 100. Citrus sinensis* 

 CC. Leaves with margin not toothed, sometimes slightly wavy, petiole not jointed with blade; flowers and 

 fruit very small — 103. ZantlwxyUim monophyilum. 

 BB. Leaves pinnate. 



H. Leaflets 5-9, elliptic, margin without teeth or very finely wavy; not spiny — 101. Zanthoxylum ftavum. 

 HH. Leaflets 7-19, oblong to lance-shaped, margin very finely wavy ; spiny — 102. Zanthoxylum martinicense. 



95. Tea, sea amyris 



Amyris elemifera L. 



A small tree or shrub characterized by: (1) 

 dense rounded crown of compact pale green foli- 

 age; (2) opposite compound leaves with usually 3 

 (sometimes 1 or 5) ovate or lance-shaped, long- 

 pointed leaflets l-2i^ inches long and Y2-W2 

 inches broad, slightly leathery, slightly shiny yel- 

 low green, and with many gland dots; (3) many 

 small, greenish-white, 4-parted, spreading flowers 

 about %6 i'K^h across; (4) many small round black 

 fruits about 14 inch in diameter; and (5) twigs, 

 leaves, and fruits with slight citrus odor when 

 crushed. 



An evergreen tree commonly 10-20 feet high and 

 3-6 inches in trunk diameter. The bark is smooth- 

 ish and gray, becoming rough with deep furrows 

 and rectangular plates. Inner bark light brown, 

 with slight citrus spicy taste. The twigs are yel- 

 low green when young, becoming gray. 



The leaves are 2-4 inches long. The leaflets, on 

 slender stalks Vg-V^ i'^cli long, are short-pointed 

 or rounded at base, the edges without teeth or 

 minutely wavy. 



Flower clusters (panicles) are terminal and lat- 

 eral, much branched, li/^-2 inches long and broad. 

 The short-stalked flowers have a minute 4-lobed 

 calyx; 4 gland-dotted spreading petals; 8 sta- 

 mens; and pistil of 1-celled ovary and broad 

 stigma. The fruits (drupes) are covered with a 

 bloom, gland-dotted, witli thin flesh and 1 brown 

 seed. Flowering and fruiting irregularly during 

 the year, recorded in flower from March to 

 October. 



The sap wood is whitish, and the heartwood light 

 yellow. The wood is very resinous with strong 

 odor, very hard, fine-grained, heavy (specific grav- 

 ity 1.0-1.1), and strong. It takes a good polish, is 

 very durable, and definitely repellent to dry-wood 

 termites. 



Used chiefly for posts in Puerto Rico. For- 

 merly also employed for furniture and fuel. If 

 available in quantities and larger size, the wood 

 might be valuable. As common names in different 

 languages indicate, torches are made from the 

 resinous wood. The tree yields a fragrant resin. 



Widely distributed in thickets of the dry lime- 

 stone and dry coastal regions of Puerto Rico. 

 Also in Mona, Desecheo, Icacos, Culebra, Vieques, 

 St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. Jolxn, and Anegada. 

 On Mona the species is becoming less common 

 owing to extensive browsing of its bark by goats. 



Public forests. — Guajataca, Guanica, Susiia. 



Municipalities where especially common. — 

 26, 28, 55, 75. 



Range. — Central and southern Florida includ- 

 ing Florida Keys, Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, His- 

 paniola, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, and 

 Lesser Antilles from St. Martin to St. Vincent, 

 Grenadines, and Grenada. Also Central America 

 in Guatemala, British Honduras, Honduras, and 

 El Salvador. Reported from Venezuela, appar- 

 ently in error. 



Other common names. — cuabilla (Puerto 

 Rico) ; candlewood, torchwood (Virgin Islands) ; 

 guaconejo, ])alo de tea (Dominican Republic) ; 

 cuabilla, cuaba decosta (Cuba) ; chilillo, pimienta, 

 taray (Honduras) ; roldan, melon (El Salavdor) ; 

 .sea amyris, torchwood, candlewood (United 

 States) ; white torch (Bahamas) ; amyris-wood, 

 torchwood (Jamaica) ; waiki-pine (British Hon- 

 duras) ; bois chandelle (French) ; bois chandelle 

 blanc, bois pini, bois flambeau (Guadeloupe). 



The Spanish name tea means torch. This is not 

 the shrub called tea in English. 



Teilla (Amyris halsamifera L.), a related spe- 

 cies of southwestern Puerto Rico, has 3-7 leaflets 

 and larger elliptic fruits 14-V^ inch long. 



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