MANGOSTEEN FAMILY (GUTTIFERAE) 



Key to the 5 species illustrated (Nos. 161-165) 



A. Leaves stiff, ending in long-pointed sharp spine — 165. Rheedia portoricensis. 

 AA. Leaves rounded or notched at apex. 



B. Leaves thick, with many straight parallel lateral veins nearly at right angles to midrib. 



C. Lateral veins only about %2 inch apart; fruit nearly 1 inch in diameter, inedible — 161. Calophyllum 



hrasiUense. 

 CC. Lateral veins more than Vi& inch apart; fruit 3-10 inches in diameter, edible (mamey)^164. Mammea 

 americana. 

 BB. Leaves very thick and fleshy, with lateral veins inconspicuous or scarcely visible. 



D. Leaves with rounded apex, the edges rolled under, seed capsules %-% inch in diameter — 162. Clusia 



krugiana. 

 DD. Leaves with rounded or notched apex, the edges slightly turned under; seed capsules 2-2% inches in 

 diameter — 163. Clusia rosea. 



161. Maria, santa-maria 



Maria, a native and widely planted tree for tim- 

 ber, ornament, and shade, is identified by its dense 

 crown with opposite stiff elliptic leaves 2i^-5 

 inches long and 1 14-21/2 inches broad, dark green 

 and slightly shiny on upper surface, with very 

 many straight parallel lateral veins only about 1/32 

 inch apart and nearly at right angles to midrib, 

 and without smaller veins. Other distinguishing 

 characteristics are: (1) numerous small fragrant 

 white flowers %-i/2 inch broad in a lateral 

 branched cluster 1-2 inches long; (2) the round, 

 light brown, 1 -seeded fruits nearly 1 inch in di- 

 ameter; and (3) the whitish latex produced in 

 small quantities. 



A medium-sized evergreen tree 40-65 feet high, 

 becoming larger, and up to 11/4 feet or more in di- 

 ameter, with straight axis and usually a spreading 

 crown. The bark is light gray and smooth or 

 slightly fissured, becoming spotted with numerous 

 dark protuberances on large trunks. Inner bark 

 is whitish and bitter. The twigs are green, 4- 

 angled, and minutely hairy when young, becoming 

 gray. 



The petioles are 14-% inch long. Blades are 

 rounded or minutely notched at apex, short- 

 pointed at base, not toothed on edges, and slightly 

 leathery. Some leaves have a rust, or fungus dis- 

 ease, producing on the upper surface wartlike nar- 

 row swellings Vie-Vi inch long, becoming brown, 

 and corresponding sunken brown areas on lower 

 surface. 



Flower clusters (racemes) at leaf bases or on 

 twigs back of leaves are much shorter than the 

 leaves and have several flowers on slender stalks. 

 Flowers are male and bisexual on the same tree 

 (polygamous). There are 4 white rounded and 

 concave sepals, 2 about 1/4 inch long and 2 about 

 half as long, widely spreading and turned back; 

 petals commonly absent (or 1-^, smaller than the 

 largest sepals and white) ; male flowers have about 

 40-50 stamens in a prominent orange cluster more 

 than 14 inch across and often a rudimentary pistil. 

 Bisexual flowers have 8-12 stamens and a pistil 

 consisting of round green ovary % inch in diam- 

 eter, 1-celled with 1 ovule, short bent style, and 

 flattened whitish stigma. 



Calophyllum brasiliense Camb. 



The fruit (drupe) has a hard, dry shell and con- 

 tains 1 large rounded seed. Flowering chiefly in 

 spring and summer, the f i-uit maturing from late 

 spring to winter, mostly in the fall. 



The sapwood is light brown or whitish, and the 

 heartwood varies from light pinkish to reddish 

 brown, often with fine darker stripes. The wood 

 is hard, moderately heavy (specific gravity 0.55), 

 fairly strong, and coarse-textured, and frequently 

 has interlocked grain. It is moderately durable 

 in contact with the ground but is very susceptible 

 to attack by dry-wood termites. Air-seasoning 

 is slow and very difficult, and the amount of de- 

 grade is considerable. Machining characteristics 

 are as follows : planing is fair; shaping, mortising, 

 sanding, and resistance to screw splitting are 

 good; and turning and boring are poor. 



Maria is classed as a construction wood, but the 

 small trees now available are chiefly for posts. 

 The attractive wood resembles mahogany and can 

 be used for many of the same purposes but is some- 

 what more difficult to season and work. Else- 

 where it is used for furniture, cabinetmaking, 

 flooring, shingles, interior construction, shipbuild- 

 ing, house framing, agricultural implements, han- 

 dles, vehicles, structural timbers, poles, and cross- 

 ties. 



The latex or resin from the trunk, called bal- 

 samo de maria, has been employed medicinally. 

 The fruits are reported to be good food for hogs, 

 and an oil has been extracted from the seeds. 



The tree is widely planted for ornament and 

 shade along highways. When young, its crown 

 may be shaped into a hedge or other forms. The 

 fruits are apparently distributed by bats with the 

 result that dense clumps of seedlings sometimes 

 develop directly beneath coconut palms along the 

 coast.. Extensively planted in forest areas because 

 of its adaptability to degraded soils and the ease 

 with which it may be established by direct seed- 

 ing. Seedlings do not survive transplanting well 

 if lifted without a ball of earth. Almost the only 

 valuable tree wliich grows well on the extremely 

 laterite soils of the western mountains, where it 

 attains 8 inches in diameter in 25 years. 



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