BUCKTHORN FAMILY (RHAMNACEAE) 



Key to the 4 species illustrated (Nos. 145-148) 



A. Leaves with 1 main vein or midrib, edges not toothed : twigs not spiny. 



B. Leaves mostly short-pointed at apex, lateral veins curved and prolonged near margins. 



C. Leaves slightly thickened, the lower surface, petioles, and twigs with rusty brown hairs, especially 

 when young — 14.5. Cohibriiia arborcscens. 

 CC. Leaves thin, the lower surface pale green and minutely hairy — 146. Cohthrina reclinata. 

 BB. Leaves rounded at both ends and slightly notchetl at apex, nearly hairless — 147. Erugiodendron ferreum. 

 AA. Leaves with 3 main veins from base, edges often minutely toothed ; twigs with paired or single spines — 148. 

 Sarcomphalus reticulatus. 



145. Abeyuelo, coffee colubrina 



This usually small tree is identified by: (1) 

 rusty-brown hairs on young twigs, young leaves, 

 veins or lower surface of mature leaves, petioles, 

 and flower clusters; (2) slightly thickened elliptic 

 leaves IV2-6 inches long and %-3 inches bi'oad, 

 blunt- or short-pointed at apex and rounded at 

 base, with the prominent lateral veins curved and 

 prolonged near margins, the upper surface slight- 

 ly shiny green and nearly hairless, and the lower 

 sui'face lighter green and finely hairy; (3) small, 

 spreading, 5-parted, greenish and rusty-brown 

 hairy flowers ^ie-Vi "icli across in small lateral 

 clusters; and (4) rounded dark brown or blackish 

 seed capsules about V4 i'lch in diameter, 3-seeded. 



Commonly 10-15 feet high and 2 inches or less 

 in trunk diameter but sometimes 25 feet or more in 

 height, evergreen, with spreading crown. Bark 

 of small trees is brown or gray, smoothish, and 

 thin, peeling off in small thin flakes, on larger 

 trimks becoming fissured. Inner bark is light 

 brown or pink and slightly bitter. Older twigs 

 are gray or reddish brown. 



Leaves are alternate in 2 rows and have petioles 

 14-V2 incb long. Blades are li/^-6 inches long 

 and %-3 inches broad, not toothed on edges. 



Trees planted in moist sites of Puerto Rico are 

 so different in their more vigorous rapid growth 

 that they scarcely seem to represent the same spe- 

 cies. They become 40-50 feet in height and 6-10 

 inches in trunk diameter, witli long stout nearly 

 horizontal branches bearing 2 rows of large coarse 

 leaves. These much larger leaves have stout peti- 

 oles %-l inch long and blades 8-11 inches long 

 and 4—6 inches wide. The flowers are similar, 

 though the seed capsules may be slightly larger. 

 The drawings illustrate both the typical and large- 

 leaf forms. 



Flower clusters are V2 in<^h across or smaller, 

 almost stalkless, with several, mostly sihort-stalked 

 flowers. The short cuplike base (hypanthium) 

 bears 5 spreading, pointed sepals more than Yiq 

 inch long, greenish and on outside rusty-brown 

 hairy, and 5 smaller narrow yellow petals folde<l 

 ai-ound the 5 opposite stamens; and the pistil con- 

 sists of 3-celled ovary covered by the broad disk, 

 a style, and 3 stigmas. 



Colubrina arborcscens (Mill.) Sarg. 



Seed capsules, borne few to several together 

 along twig mostly back of leaves, are nearly round 

 or slightly 3-lobed, with cuplike base (hypan- 

 thium) in lowest third to half, splitting into 3 

 parts and separating from base. The shiny black 

 seeds are V^-'^^ inch long. Flowering and fruiting 

 probably irregularly from .spring to fall. 



The sap wood is whitish or light brown, the 

 heartwood yellowish brown. The wood is hard, 

 heavy (specific gravity 0.7), strong, and durable. 

 Used chiefly for posts in Puerto Rico and formerly 

 for piling because of resistance to decay in water. 

 Elsewhere employed in construction where suffi- 

 ciently large. 



Planted as a shade tree in southern Florida, 

 Guatemala, and El Salvador. Recent forest plan- 

 tations of this species in the Guilarte Forest con- 

 tain rapid-growing trees of good form. The shiny 

 seeds of this and related species have been made 

 into necklaces and similar ornaments in Jamaica. 



Thickets and forests in the coastal and lime- 

 stone regions, chiefly in the drier areas of Puerto 

 Rico. Also in Mona, Icacos, Vieques, Ctilebra, St. 

 Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, Virgin 

 Gorda, and Anegada. 



Public forests. — Boqueron, Cambalache, Gua- 

 jataca, Guanica, Guilarte, Rio Abajo. 



MUNICIPALITT WHERE ESPECIALLY COMMON, 49. 



Range. — Southern Florida including Florida 

 Keys and "West Indies from Bahamas and Cuba 

 to Antigua and in Barbados. Also southern 

 Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, and introduced 

 in El Salvador. 



Other common names. — corazon de paloma, 

 cuerno de buey (Dominican Republic) ; bijaguara, 

 birijagua, fuego (Cuba) ; cascalata (Mexico) ; 

 coxte, costex, guayabillo (Guatemala) ; chaquirio, 

 chaquira (El Salvador) ; coffee colubrina, naked- 

 wood, wild-coffee (United States) ; common snake- 

 bark, bitters (Bahamas) ; greenheart, snake- wood, 

 black velvet, wild ebony, mountain ebony (Ja- 

 maica) ; blackbead-tree (Barbados) ; bois de fer, 

 bois mabi, bois pel6, bois ferblanc (Haiti), 



Botanical synonyms. — Colubrina cohihrina 

 (Jacq.) Millsp., C. ferruglnosa Brongn. 



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