Other Cotntnon 7\iaines 



For Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands many 

 additional common names were obtained from 

 local residents or taken from references, particu- 

 larly Urban (37), Britton and Wilson (.5), and 

 Otero, Toro, and Pagan (33) . Most of these have 

 been verified, but several, apparently misapplied, 

 have been omitted. As no Indian tribes have re- 

 mained on Puerto Rico since the early Spanish 

 settlement, there are now no separate aboriginal 

 tree names. However, some Spanish names are of 

 Carib Indian origin. Though tlie United States 

 Virgin Islands belonged to Denmark until pur- 

 chased by the United States in 1917, the tree names 

 were English, and no Danish tree names are now 

 recorded. 



Principal common names in use in the New 

 World have been compiled from many floras and 

 tree lists of different countries, and a few added 

 from herbarium labels. These names often differ 

 from country to country or from one island to an- 

 other and may be in as many as five languages 

 (Spanish, English, French, Dutch, and Portu- 

 guese), besides some of American Indian origin. 

 Variant spellings, aboriginal names, long, lists of 

 local names within one country, and Old World 

 names generally have been omitted. Other com- 

 mon names have been grouped by language and 

 countries in the following order: Puerto Rico, 

 Virgin Islands, Spanish, other Spanish-speaking 

 countries in West Indies, and from Mexico to 

 South America; United States, English, British 

 lands, and other English-speaking countries; 

 French, Haiti, French lands; Dutcli West Indies 

 and Surinam; and Brazil. Names in international 

 commerce or lumber trade or so recommended are 

 indicated. Some preferred names of Puerto Rico 

 and the Virgin Islands are repeated under other 

 common names to show usage elsewhere. 



In the West Indian islands some tree names are 

 not in the same language of the governing coun- 

 try, which may have changed one or more times 

 since colonization. Persons migrating from one 

 island to another have brought with them names 

 from different languages. Some common names 

 are corruptions from other tongues, such as 

 French words somewhat modified in British areas. 

 Various names have become adopted fi'om Span- 

 ish, English, French, and Dutch into creole dia- 

 lects. Also, European colonists often gave to trop- 

 ical American trees the well-known names of simi- 

 lar though unrelated Old World species. 



Scientific 7s[ames 



Foresters, botanists, and other scientists use the 

 scientific names in their technical writings and dis- 

 cussions. Being in Latin or Latinized, scientific 

 names are definite and uniform and regulated by 

 botanists under the International Code of Botani- 

 cal Nomenclature. Thus, the Latin name of a tree 

 or other plant species in an international language 

 is the same throughout the world. 



The scientific name of a species consists of two 

 words : the generic name, which is capitalized, and 

 the specific epithet. In some species, varieties are 

 distinguished, being designated by a third word 

 preceded by the abbreviation "var.'" References 

 and technical ])ublications cite also the author or 

 botanist wlio first named and described tlie species, 

 usually abbreviated if common or long. Where 

 the name lias been transferred from one genus or 

 combination to another, the original author's name 

 is placed in parenthesis and followed by a second 

 autlior, who made tlie change. 



Botanical Synonyms 



As some species have borne more than one scien- 

 tific name, any botanical synonyms common in use, 

 particularly in the West Indies, are listed. For 

 example, a species may have been described inde- 

 ])endenfly by different botanists, or two species 

 may have been united following later study of ad- 

 ditional s])ecimens. Also, there may be differences 

 of opinion among specialists whether a variation 

 merits recognition as a variety or separate species 

 or needs no additional name. Included under 

 botanical synonyms are those scientific names ac- 

 cepted by Britton and Wilson (5) but afterwards 

 clianged because of differences in codes of botani- 

 cal nomenclature or in accordance with mono- 

 graphic studies and conservative usage. 



Tree Descriptions 



The descrijitive text for each species begins with 

 a summary of the main distinguishing characters, 

 wjiich is followed by size and appearance and by 

 botanical descriptions of leaves, flowers, and fruits, 

 ^leasurements of trees and their parts are given in 

 the English system of feet and inches. In conver- 

 sion to the metric system, which is more commonly 

 used in tropical America, these equivalents may 

 be noted : 1 foot is 0.3048 meter, 1 inch is 2.54 centi- 

 meters, and Vs inch is approximately 3 millimeters. 



Main Distinguishing Characters 



The fii-st paragraph summarizes the outstand- 

 ing features for easy recognition, particularly 

 leaves, flowers, and fruits. Mention is made of 

 other characters useful in identification, such as 

 distinctive bark or presence of latex or colored 

 sap. Introduced trees are noted and indicated 

 by an asterisk after the scientific name. 



Size and Appearance 



In the second paragraph the approximate size 

 is given as small (less than 30 feet tall), medium 

 (from 30 to 70 feet tall), or large (more than 70 

 feet tall). The average and maximum heights 

 and trunk diameters represent mature trees in 

 Puerto Rico, though larger trees may have existed 

 in the virgin forests within the island or elsewhere. 

 Trunk measurements are diameters at breast 

 height (d.b.h.) or 41/2 feet. Trees are classed as 



