MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE) 



248. Juan tomas 



A small to mediuni-sized tree or shrub of moun- 

 tain forests, confined to Puerto Kico, character- 

 ized by: (1) opposite elliptic leaves 3-7 inches 

 long and 114-3 inches broad, short-pointed at both 

 ends, with midrib pink or red on under side and 

 sometimes also on upper side; (2) 2 broad and 

 pointed green scales (stipules) %6-Vi: i'l^'li long 

 at the base of each pair of leaves; (3) tubular 

 white flowers 14 inch long and with 5 lobes % inch 

 across, several to many in lateral clusters; and 

 (4r) gray or brown seed capsules I/4 inch long, 

 nearly round but broader than long. 



Generally a small tree 15-25 feet high and to 6 

 inches in trunk diameter, sometimes larger, or a 

 shnib, evergreen. The gray bark is smoothish 

 and slightly fissured. Inner bark is pinkish out- 

 side and liglit brown within, slightly bitter. The 

 twigs are gray and with rings at nodes, greenish 

 and minutely hairy when young, the nodes partly 

 ci'owded and partly distant. 



Petioles are V^j-l inch long, green or tinged with 

 pink, minutely hairy. I^eaf blades are slightly 

 thickened and slightly fleshy, with edges turned 

 under, green and hairless on upper surface, the 

 lower surfai'e paler and with prominent minutely 

 hairy midrib. 



Flower clusters (panicles) are branched, l-2Vo 

 inches long, with several to many fragrant flowers. 

 The light green, finely hairy tubular base (hy- 

 panthium) more than y^e inch long bears 5 calyx 

 teeth nearly as long: the tubular white corolla % 

 inch long has 5 widely spreading lobes turned 



Rondeletia portoricensis Krug & Urban 



back, minutely hairy; 5 stamens are inserted with- 

 in corolla tube; and the pistil is composed of in- 

 ferior 2-celled ovary witii hairy style and 2-lobed 

 stigma. 



Seed capsules are minutely hairy, splitting open 

 into 4 parts, containing many tiny winged seeds 

 1/16 inch long. Flowering in summer, and fruit 

 maturing in fall. 



Sapwood is light brown and hard. This tree is 

 ordinarily small and not utilized. 



Widely distributed usually in the understory of 

 mountain forests of Puerto Rico. 



Public forests. — Luquillo, Maricao, Toro 

 Negro. 



Range. — Puerto Rico only. 



Two related species are shrubs or small trees. 

 Cordobancillo (Rondeletia inermk (Spreng.) 

 Krug & Urban) is widely distributed in Piierto 

 Rico and also in Muertos but not known elsewhere. 

 It has opposite, linear to oblong or elliptic leaves 

 1/2^ inches long and 1/4-2 inches wide and lateral 

 clusters of 5 or fewer tubular flowers about V^ inch 

 long with 4-lobed corolla yellow or white, changing 

 to purple. 



Rondeletm pilosa Sw. is found in coastal thickets 

 of eastern and southeastern Puerto Rico, St. Croix, 

 St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and 

 Montserrat. It has the twigs and under surfaces 

 of leaves densely soft hairy ; opposite elliptic leaves 

 11/4^ inches long; and lateral clusters of usually 

 3 tubular flowers about % incli long with 4-lobed 

 corolla. 



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